Nikki Haley requests Secret Service protection, citing rise in threats

Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley has requested a U.S. Secret Service protective detail, citing a rise in threats against her, NBC News confirmed Monday.

Haley is the only major candidate still running against Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary.

“When you do something like this, you get threats. It’s just a reality,” Haley said in South Carolina last week.

“Part of running for public life is that you’re going to deal with the threats that are there. That’s not going to deter me. Does it mean we have to put a few more bodies around us? Yes, that’s fine,” she said at a campaign stop in Columbia.

Trump and his supporters have urged Haley to drop out of the race and back his campaign. But Haley has so far refused.

On Monday, Haley said the increased threats are “not going to stop me from doing what I need to do,” according to The Wall Street Journal, which was first to report the protective detail request.

Requests for Secret Service protection from presidential candidates are not granted by the U.S. Secret Service itself. Rather, they are authorized by the Secretary of Homeland Security, who decides whether or not to grant the request after consulting with a joint congressional advisory committee.

A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Haley’s request.

Despite having lost to Trump in the first two nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, and trailing in the polls, Haley has vowed to stay in the race.

Spokespeople for the Trump and Haley campaigns did not immediately respond to requests for comment.