On Guard: New Security Worries on Campaign Trail

May 5, 2007 — -- As Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., arrived in Baton Rouge, La., Louisiana State University student Richard Wargo, 19, was in jail on $1 million bond for threatening the candidate.

A classmate told police Wargo threatened the former first lady and presidential candidate and talked of "burning down Clinton headquarters." LSU Police Chief Ricky Adams told The Associated Press that Wargo said "something along the lines of, 'Have you ever heard of a dead president?" an apparent reference to Clinton.

Wargo's friends opened a "Facebook" Web page in his defense, saying he was merely joking.

The 2008 race is a historic campaign. Clinton would become the first female president. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., would become the first black president. Both have faced recent threats against them.

As a former first lady, Clinton already has federal Secret Service protection. Most major candidates receive a Secret Service detail 120 days before the general election. But on Thursday, Obama became the second candidate to gain one.

Illinois' senior senator, Dick Durbin, said he requested the protection for fellow Democrat Obama after hearing of "disturbing" threats against the candidate.

"It is a sad reality in this day and age that Mr. Obama's African-American heritage is a cause for very violent and hated reaction from some people," Durbin said Thursday.

It's a risk faced by other black candidates, including Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

"When I announced in '84, the very first day they had to bring out the Secret Service because we received the most threats of any candidate at that time in American history," Jackson said. "The hate is unfounded but the violence is real. ... When you're drawing big crowds, all kinds of elements [are] in those crowds -- some are cheering and some are stalking."

Threats to candidates led the Washington Post editorial page to urge Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to take action, saying, "With an estimated $100 million already allocated for this purpose, Mr. Chertoff should consider bringing more into the fold sooner rather than later."