Secret Service agent protecting Kamala Harris involved in fight with other agents

An armed U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to Vice President Kamala Harris‘s protective detail fought unarmed with other detail agents on Monday morning. The incident occurred at the Washington, D.C.-area Andrews Air Force Base, shortly before Harris arrived, and after the agent suffered what the Secret Service has characterized as a medical incident. The Washington Examiner is aware of the agent’s name and specific detail responsibilities but is withholding those details for privacy reasons.

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 The agent was handcuffed before being withdrawn from service for medical assessment.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 shortly after the incident.

In a statement, Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi told the Washington Examiner, “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. 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. 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.”

All Secret Service agents are armed while on domestic protective duty. But as with their Diplomatic Security Service counterparts, agents assigned to protective details endure heavy travel burdens, often working long hours away from home. The psychological health of armed agents serving in very close proximity to high-ranking government officials and foreign heads of state is thus a high-priority concern for the Secret Service.

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Moreover, the Vice Presidential Protective Division is widely regarded within the Secret Service as the second most prestigious assignment after the Presidential Protective Division. Because of the continuity of government protocols, VPD agents are party to exceptionally sensitive planning on responses to nuclear war and catastrophic terrorist attacks or environmental disasters. 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.

The Washington Examiner is unaware of the agent’s current status. The Vice President’s office did not respond to a request for comment.