A Secret Service agent assigned to President Joe Biden’s Middle East trip was detained in Israel and sent home after a “physical encounter,” the agency said Wednesday.
The unnamed male agent, who was a member of the Secret Service Counter Assault Team, was deployed to Israel ahead of Biden’s Wednesday arrival, CBS News reported. The team usually provides security to the president for high-profile trips overseas.
The agent was accused of assaulting a woman outside a bar at Mahane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem on Monday night, The Times of Israel and CBS News reported. The woman was not injured and there were no allegations of sexual assault, NBC News reported.
The agent, who was with colleagues at the time, was accused of shoving the woman after they had an argument, CBS News reported, citing three unnamed people who were informed of the matter. Two sources told the network that alcohol was involved.
The Israeli police were called to the scene, and the agent was briefly detained and questioned before he was released with no charges, a Secret Service spokesperson said in a statement to multiple outlets.
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“The employee has returned to the United States,” the spokesperson said, per CBS News and CNN. “In accordance with agency protocol, his access to Secret Service systems and facilities was suspended pending further investigation.”
The Secret Service did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday to kick off a four-day visit to the Middle East. He is expected to be in Israel on Wednesday and Thursday, and fly to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday.
His itinerary includes meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Biden has defended his trip to Saudi Arabia as a necessary one to stabilize oil supply, which has been shaken by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Source: Business Insider
