A man armed with a loaded pistol was arrested Friday at Robert F. Kennedy Jr. presidential campaign event after he was caught posing as a U.S. Marshal. Photo courtesy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr./Twitter
Sept. 16 (UPI) — A man armed with a loaded pistol was arrested Friday at Robert F. Kennedy Jr. presidential campaign event after he was caught posing as a U.S. Marshal.
Kennedy, the 69-year-old son of late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, was scheduled to give a speech to honor Hispanic Heritage Month at Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles at the time of the incident, his campaign said in a statement.
The man, who was not identified by Kennedy’s team, presented himself at the side entrance to the theater and claimed to be a part of Kennedy’s security team. He said he needed to be taken to Kennedy immediately.
He was identified in jail records reviewed by UPI as 44-year-old Adrian Aispuro and his bail has been set at $35,000.
“The man, wearing two shoulder holsters with loaded pistols and spare ammunition magazines was carrying a U.S. Marshal badge on a lanyard and beltclip federal ID. He identified himself as a member of my security detail,” Kennedy said in a statement on Twitter.
The man can be seen with hand and neck tattoos and a groomed beard in a photo shared by the aspiring presidential candidate.
Kennedy’s actual security team removed him from the area and surrounded him before notifying the Los Angeles Police Department.
“LAPD also took custody of a second man, who came to the campaign event with the primary suspect,” Kennedy’s campaign said. “Protectors observed that the man seeking access to the event had a backpack, found to contain at least one other handgun, multiple knives, and extra ammunition.”
Kennedy’s father, known as Bobby Kennedy, was shot dead by Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, when he was running for the role of president.
Bobby Kennedy’s brother, President John F. Kennedy Jr. was shot dead in Dallas in November 1963, five years prior.