Prior to President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel, a Secret Service agent was dispatched there, but he or she was called back after what multiple stories characterize as a verbal disagreement that turned physical involving a lady.
According to CNN, the Secret Service issued a statement that broadly validated the incident’s details.
In a statement, it was stated that “Late Monday, the United States Secret Service was informed that an agency employee working in Israel was allegedly involved in a physical encounter.”
“The employee was briefly detained and questioned by Israeli police, who released him without charges. The employee has returned to the United States,” according to the statement.
For the second time in three months, Secret Service personnel have been sent home from a presidential foreign trip following run-ins with local police https://t.co/oI3nhryTiW
— Kevin Liptak (@Kevinliptakcnn) July 13, 2022
“In accordance with agency protocol, his access to Secret Service systems and facilities was suspended pending further investigation,” according to the statement.
According to CBS, which claimed to have more information from four unnamed sources, the agent was an unofficial man who was in a Jerusalem pub at the time the incident occurred.
Per the Times of Israel, which cited stories from Hebrew media, the incident started when a woman informed the agent—who was drinking with a colleague at the time—that he was intoxicated and acting inappropriately, implying it happened outside of a bar.
Alcohol was reportedly a factor in the event, according to CBS.
More on this story via The Western Journal:
The agent then either pushed or hit the woman, who then summoned the Israeli police, according to the reports.
The woman was not injured.
CBS reported that the agent involved is a member of the Counter Assault Team, which it called “a heavy weapons tactical unit of Secret Service that assists the Presidential Protective Division.”
The report said members of that unit are sent ahead of a presidential visit. Biden arrived in Israel Wednesday.