By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The head of the Secret Service said his agents’ jobs are tougher because of the rowdy rallies held by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
“There’s no question that some of these events create even more challenges for us,” Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy told lawmakers at a House Appropriations committee hearing Tuesday.
On Saturday, agents jumped on stage to protect Trump after a man jumped over a fence and appeared to be lunging at the Republican frontrunner. Just a day earlier, Trump canceled a rally in Chicago after hundreds of protesters turned out in loud opposition to the Republican.
But Clancy reiterated that his agents are not responsible for removing disruptive protesters, NBC News reports.
“We are there to protect our protectee,” Clancy said. “If there are people that are disrupting the event, that is not our primary responsibility.”
The responsibility for handling protesters is up to event security or local law enforcement, Clancy aid.
“We do not interfere with people’s First Amendment rights. People have the right to voice their opinions and it’s for the host committee to decide whether that’s disruptive to that event.”
