US Secret Service agents caught on camera breaking into salon to use bathroom

The US Secret Service was left red-faced after its agents were caught on camera breaking into a Massachusetts salon to answer nature’s call ahead of a Vice President Kamala Harris event. The agency had to apologise to the salon owner, who hadn’t given permission for the use of her business or its bathroom, reported Fox News.

The incident occurred on July 27, when the Secret Service was securing the area for Harris’s first in-person fundraiser since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Alicia Powers, the owner of the Four One Three Salon in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, told Business Insider that Secret Service agents taped over her security cameras and broke into her building by picking the lock.

Security footage showed a Secret Service agent taping over the camera and later, four individuals entering the salon without permission. The salon’s security alarm sounded throughout the incident.

Powers stated that she closed her salon at the request of the Secret Service, which had conducted bomb sweeps earlier in the week.

“They had a bunch of people in and out of here doing a couple of bomb sweeps again — totally understand what they have to do, due to the nature of the situation,” Powers said. “And at that point, my team felt like it was a little bit chaotic, and we just made the decision to close for Saturday.”

On the day of the incident, various individuals, including those in emergency medical services uniforms and a state police uniform, entered the salon to use the bathroom without permission, the owner alleged.

“There were several people in and out for about an hour-and-a-half — just using my bathroom, the alarms going off, using my counter, with no permission,” she said.

Power further alleged that after the agents and other individuals cleared out, they left the building unlocked, and did not take the tape off the camera.

The building’s landlord, Brian Smith, also confirmed that no one had given the Secret Service agents permission to enter the premises.

The Secret Service acknowledged the incident and apologised to Powers. A spokesperson stated that the agency’s employees “would not enter” a business without the owner’s permission. However, the agency did not deny that an agent taped over the security camera lens.

Powers received an apology from the Secret Service’s Boston office, but she remains upset about the lack of respect for her business.

“Whoever was visiting, whether it was a celebrity or not, I probably would’ve opened the door and made them coffee and brought in donuts to make it a great afternoon for them,” she said. “But they didn’t even have the audacity to ask for permission. They just helped themselves.”

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