The U.S. Secret Service dispatched a protective detail to the home of Senator Joseph Biden prior to Saturday’s public announcement in Illinois that Biden is Senator Barack Obama’s vice-presidential choice.

ABC News reported on the night of August 22 that:

The United States Secret Service has dispatched a protective detail to assume the immediate protection of Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., a source tells ABC News, indicating in all likelihood that Biden has been officially notified that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, has selected him to be his running mate.

Joe Biden ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and 2004, but never advanced to the point where he received Secret Service protection.