Vice President Kamala Harris’s security detail got into an altercation that ended with a Secret Service agent being removed from duty.
The U.S. Secret Service agent protecting the vice president reportedly got into a physical struggle with fellow agents Monday before being handcuffed and led away. The incident took place before Harris arrived at the Washington, D.C.-area Andrews Air Force Base.
Kamala Harris secret service agent
Has a “medical issue”
From “distressing behavior” pic.twitter.com/opY3zq4his— True Stormy Joe (@truestormyjoe) April 25, 2024
The Secret Service characterized what happened as a “medical incident,” according to the Washington Examiner which added that it “is aware of the agent’s name and specific detail responsibilities but is withholding those details for privacy reasons.”
According to the outlet:
The Washington Examiner understands that the agent became aggressive with other agents. When the special agent in charge and a detail shift supervisor attempted to calm the agent, a physical altercation ensued. The agent was handcuffed before being withdrawn from service for medical assessment. Harris was scheduled to arrive at Andrews Air Force Base after the incident.
“At approximately 9 a.m. April 22, a U.S. Secret Service special agent supporting the Vice President’s departure from Joint Base Andrews began displaying behavior their colleagues found distressing,” Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi told the Washington Examiner in a statement.
“The agent was removed from their assignment while medical personnel were summoned. The Vice President was at the Naval Observatory when this incident occurred and there was no impact on her departure from Joint Base Andrews,” Guglielmi continued. “The U.S. Secret Service takes the safety and health of our employees very seriously. As this was a medical matter, we will not disclose any further details.”
While on protective duty domestically, all Secret Service agents are typically armed.
“Because of the continuity of government protocols, VPD [Vice Presidential Protective Division] agents are party to exceptionally sensitive planning on responses to nuclear war and catastrophic terrorist attacks or environmental disasters,” Washington Examiner noted. “Agents must serve in field offices for a minimum of three years and receive excellent performance reports before going to VPD. They must also then pass the intensive Protective Detail Training course at the Secret Service’s James J. Rowley training facility in the DC suburbs.”
