Authorities arrested someone they suspect of stealing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse from a DC restaurant on Easter. They also arrested a second suspect linked to “a pattern of robberies and thefts in Washington, D.C.” in Miami, the US Secret Service announced.
The theft occurred in the Capital Burger, a place the New York Times memorably describes as an “upscale Washington hamburger restaurant.” It’s an offshoot of the Capital Grille, a top GOP hangout in Washington that offers “artfully composed and recklessly devoured” hamburger sandwiches and booze-infused milkshakes. More arrests “are expected in a theft ring which recently targeted Washington, DC’s Penn Quarter area,” CNN reports. The theft, CNN says, occurred when the purported perp “sat down at an empty table next to Noem with his back facing her and used his left foot to slide the bag away.”
In the Secret Service’s statement, Washington Special Agent in Charge Matt McCool said, “We have also determined that this incident had no protective nexus to Secretary Noem or her role as Secretary of Homeland Security.” Washingtonian was unaware of the meaning of the term “protective nexus” so we asked the Secret Service for clarification. It means that there’s no evidence at the moment that suggests Noem was targeted based on her job, USSS communications chief Anthony Guglielmi told us.
Noem’s Gucci purse contained $3,000 in cash, her department ID, her passport, and blank checks. In a statement to the Washington Post, she called one of the suspects “a career criminal who has been in our country illegally for years.” Interim US Attorney Ed Martin said on X that the suspect “will be prosecuted to the fullest extent if the law.”
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
