Armed man accused of impersonating US Marshal at Robert Kennedy Jr. event in LA identified
Adrian Paul Aispuro, 44, is being held on $35,000 bail for a felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The armed man accused of impersonating a U.S. Marshal at a Robert Kennedy Jr. campaign event in Los Angeles on Friday has been identified, and new video shows the moment he was taken into custody.
The video, which was posted on TikTok, shows 44-year-old Adrian Paul Aispuro being placed in handcuffs.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, a radio call was generated around 4:30 p.m. Friday reporting a man with "a loaded gun in a shoulder holster and a badge stating he was a U.S. Marshal."
LAPD officers arrived at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre shortly after and arrested Aispuro, who's currently being held on $35,000 bail for a felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon.
Police said the man never brandished the gun or threatened anyone.
According to a statement issued Saturday afternoon from Kennedy's campaign, a private security team interacted with Aispuro ahead of Friday evening's speech after Aispuro insisted that he was a part of the candidate's security detail and asked to be taken to Kennedy "immediately."
"The security imposter, who was wearing sunglasses, appeared to have laid his plans in advance, as he was carrying what appeared to be a U.S. Marshal badge on a lanyard and belt clip federal ID," the campaign said. "The Kennedy campaign is seeking additional information from law enforcement authorities."
The campaign also claimed that the LAPD "took custody" of a second man they allege came to the event with Aispuro, but the LAPD said Saturday they have no information on a second armed suspect.
LAPD remains the lead agency on the case, the station's Watch Commander said earlier.
In July, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and a bipartisan committee rejected a request from Kennedy for Secret Service protection following an unusually early request from Kennedy's campaign. Kennedy said at the time that his request "included a 67-page report...detailing unique and well-established security and safety risks aside from commonplace death threats."
Kennedy, whose father and uncle were both assassinated, raised the issue of a Secret Service detail again in his statement on Friday night, claiming he was the "first presidential candidate in history" to be denied protection upon request.
"I'm still entertaining a hope that President Biden will allow me Secret Service protection," Kennedy said.
"Major presidential candidates" do receive Secret Service protection during the primaries but there are a number of requirements that candidates must meet, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Once such requirements are met, the secretary of Homeland Security consults with an advisory committee and one additional member selected by the other members of the committee -- usually from the Secret Service -- and determines if a candidate is eligible for Secret Service protection.
Notably, this is the first time Kennedy has explicitly acknowledged that Gavin de Becker and Associates, whose namesake donated $4.5 million to a pro-Kennedy Super PAC, is providing his security detail.
Asked in July by ABC News if he employed private security following the rejection of his request, Kennedy was cagey about the details despite the presence of men wearing pins with the insignia of Gavin de Becker and Associates.
"I'm not going to tell you my security arrangements for obvious reasons," Kennedy said.
ABC News contributed to this report.
