Secret Service agent robbed at gunpoint during Biden’s California trip
The incident happened while the president visited California for a Democratic fundraiser, where he was joined by former President Barack Obama
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A US Secret Service agent was robbed at gunpoint last Saturday in Tustin, California, as Biden was visiting the state for a Los Angeles fundraiser.
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said the armed robbery happened when the Secret Service member was returning from a work assignment late Saturday, prompting them to fire their service weapon.
Guglielmi said the agent was not injured in the robbery — but his bag was stolen. Officers later recovered some of the agent’s belongings in the area, police said.
It is not known whether the suspect, who fled the scene, was injured.
Police were still attempting to find the suspect’s vehicle as of Monday afternoon, the Tustin Police Department said. The vehicle, a 2004-2005 silver Infinity, was seen leaving the area on Saturday.
Authorities are now asking the public for help in identifying the suspect as the investigation remains ongoing.
It was not clear whether the Secret Service member was part of Biden’s protective detail while the president visited California for a Democratic fundraiser, where he was joined by former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, as well as actors George Clooney and Julia Roberts.
The event was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and raked in $30 million.
During the event, President Biden warned of the possibility that Donald Trump could have the opportunity to appoint two new Supreme Court justices if he wins November’s election.
“The next president is likely to have two new Supreme Court nominees,” he said. “I think it is one of the scariest parts.”
Kimmel added that it had been almost two years since the “largely Trump-appointed” Supreme Court justices overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that was initially put in place to protect the right to have an abortion in the United States.
“These threats to abortion rights, to women’s rights, to even to birth control and IVF are not in our liberal imaginations anymore,” Kimmel said.
“These very personal, intimate decisions, are now being made by nine unelected judges — one of whom flies his flag upside down. One of the others drives around in a $267,000 gift on vacations,” the late show host continued, referencing past controversies surrounding justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.
“And I think we are all wondering, what can we do about this?” Kimmel said, posing the question to the current president.
“Elect me again,” Biden responded.