The US Secret Service found itself in an awkward situation after its agents were caught on camera breaking into a Massachusetts salon to use the bathroom without permission, just before an event featuring Vice President Kamala Harris. The agency later issued an apology to the salon owner, Alicia Powers, who had not granted permission for the use of her business or its facilities, as reported by Fox News.
The incident took place on July 27 while the Secret Service was securing the area for Harris’s first in-person fundraiser since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee. Alicia Powers, owner of the Four One Three Salon in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, told Business Insider that Secret Service agents taped over her security cameras and picked the lock to gain entry to her building.
Security footage revealed a Secret Service agent covering the camera, followed by four individuals entering the salon without permission. The salon’s security alarm went off during the incident.
Powers explained that she had closed her salon earlier in the week at the request of the Secret Service, which had conducted bomb sweeps in preparation for the event. “They had a lot of people coming in and out doing bomb sweeps—completely understandable, given the situation,” Powers said. “But it became chaotic, so we decided to close for Saturday.”
On the day of the incident, several people, including those in emergency medical services uniforms and a state police uniform, entered the salon to use the bathroom without permission, according to Powers. “There were people coming and going for about an hour-and-a-half—using my bathroom, triggering alarms, using my counter—all without permission,” she said. Powers also claimed that after the agents and others left, they did not lock the building and failed to remove the tape from the security camera.
The building’s landlord, Brian Smith, confirmed that the Secret Service agents did not have permission to enter the premises.
The Secret Service acknowledged the incident and issued an apology to Powers. A spokesperson stated that the agency’s employees “would not enter” a business without the owner’s permission but did not deny that an agent had covered the security camera lens.
Powers received an apology from the Secret Service’s Boston office but remains upset about the lack of respect shown to her business. “Whoever was visiting, whether it was a celebrity or not, I probably would’ve welcomed them, made coffee, and brought donuts to make it a pleasant afternoon,” she said. “But they didn’t even have the courtesy to ask for permission. They just helped themselves.”
