The handbag of National Security Secretary Kristi Noem, which contained $3,000 in cash (about 60,000 pesos), was stolen while she was dining at a popular restaurant in Washington D.C. over the weekend. The incident is being investigated by the United States Secret Service.
Kristi Noem, nominated by Trump to head National Security, was dining with her family at The Capital Burger when she felt what she thought was her grandson brushing against her leg, according to a person familiar with the incident. Moments later, she realized her handbag was missing, the source noted, who is not authorized to speak publicly. Inside the Gucci bag were Noem's DHS security badge, credit and bank cards, passport, blank checks, prescription medications, driver's license, and a Louis Vuitton Clemence wallet. Her government-issued phone was recovered and is accounted for.
Security footage showed a male white suspect entering the restaurant at 7:52 PM on Sunday, wearing dark pants, a fur-collared jacket, sneakers, and a white N95 mask. The suspect sat at a table next to Noem's at 7:55 PM, angled his chair towards her, and seemed to be observing the floor, according to a police document reviewed by Bloomberg. While Noem looked away, the suspect used his foot to slide the bag under his table, picked it up, covered it with his jacket, and left the premises at 7:56 PM. Noem discovered the bag was missing when she stood up to leave.
Noem is one of the most visible figures of the Trump administration in the enforcement of immigration laws, frequently appearing in TV ads and social media campaigns ordering migrants to return to their countries or face deportation. She has posed on horseback in the southern border region, accompanied federal agents on raids, and promoted tough messages against immigration in media appearances.
Noem drew attention during a visit last month to the Salvadoran Anti-Terrorism Detention Center, known as Cecot, for wearing a $50,000 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. The trip came as legal challenges against the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants by the Trump administration to that facility were increasing.
Noem, the former Republican governor of South Dakota, briefly addressed the theft during the White House 'Easter Egg Roll' event on Monday, stating that the case remains under investigation. She was hosting her entire family in Washington, including her children and grandchildren, and had taken them out for dinner, activities, and to give them Easter gifts, according to another person familiar with the matter.
