An armed Secret Service agent assigned to Vice President Kamala Harris’s protective detail engaged in a physical altercation with unarmed agents at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C. before Harris’s arrival on Monday morning.
The incident unfolded after the agent experienced what the Secret Service described as a medical issue.
According to the Washington Examiner, the agent displayed aggressive behavior towards colleagues, prompting intervention from the special agent in charge and a detail shift supervisor.
The situation escalated into a physical confrontation, resulting in the agent being restrained and removed for medical evaluation. Harris was not affected by the incident, as she was at the Naval Observatory at the time.
Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi stated that the agent’s behavior was deemed distressing by colleagues, leading to their removal from duty for medical assessment.
Guglielmi emphasized that the incident did not impact Harris’s departure from the base and declined to provide further details due to medical privacy concerns.
All Secret Service agents on domestic protective duty are armed.
However, the demands of protective assignments, which involve extensive travel and long hours, can impact agents’ psychological well-being, especially those in close proximity to high-profile individuals.
The Vice Presidential Protective Division, considered the second most prestigious assignment in the Secret Service, requires agents to undergo rigorous training and demonstrate exceptional performance before being assigned to protect the vice president.
