The Secret Service ended its longest-serving detail of nearly 50 years Friday, a day after former President Jimmy Carter was laid to rest in Plains, Georgia.
Carter, who died last month at age 100, was first given Secret Service protection on Oct. 8, 1975, when he was running for the Democrat presidential nomination, the agency said in a statement posted on X by Kelly O'Donnell, White House correspondent for NBC News.
Legislation in 1958 afforded presidents lifetime protection by the Secret Service, but that was reduced in 1994 to 10 years for presidents inaugurated after 1997. The Former Presidents Protection Act of 2012, signed into law by Barack Obama, eliminated such limitations and provided lifetime protection for former presidents, their spouses, and all of their children under age 16.
The statement said Carter was assigned his own detail during the fall stretch of the 1976 campaign and weeks after the party's convention on Sept. 6, 1976, in New York City. Carter went on to narrowly defeat incumbent Republican Gerald Ford that November to become the 39th president.
"President Jimmy Carter holds the distinction of being the longest-serving Secret Service protectee in history," Anthony Guglielmi, the agency's communications director, said in the statement. "President Carter had a lasting impression on everyone at the Secret Service, but especially his detail, [who were] inspired by his public service, compassion, and incredible dedication to humanity."
Secret Service agents were seen earlier this week walking alongside a hearse carrying Carter's casket ahead of funeral services Thursday in Washington, D.C. He was buried at his home in Plains next to his wife Rosalynn, who preceded him in death by 13 months after a 77-year marriage.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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