Agents of the U.S. Secret Service are accused of covering up a security camera and forcibly entering a salon in Massachusetts to use the restroom before a recent Kamala Harris fundraiser, according to the salon’s owner.
Alicia Powers, who owns Four One Three Salon in Pittsfield, stated to Business Insider that she had shut down her business on July 27 at the Secret Service’s request, as it is located near the Colonial Theatre where Harris was scheduled to speak.
Powers mentioned that Secret Service agents had previously visited her salon earlier that week to assess security measures but she did not anticipate their return after she had locked up the premises.
“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 told the outlet. “And at that point, my team felt like it was a little bit chaotic, and we just made the decision to close for Saturday.”
Powers shared security camera footage capturing the moment a Secret Service agent approached the salon’s entrance with a roll of tape, then proceeded to climb on a chair in order to cover the lens.
Secret Service batting a 1000 at this point.
"Secret Service agents taped over a security camera and broke into a Massachusetts hair salon while securing the area for a Kamala Harris campaign event, according to the salon's owner.
The intrusion happened on July 27, ahead of… pic.twitter.com/fX13C2lJhQ— Literally Heather (@Shouse34) August 9, 2024
Another camera inside the shop recorded a second video showing numerous emergency medical and law enforcement personnel entering the salon, with one of them seen taking something small from Powers’ desk.
During a period of almost two hours, several unauthorized individuals were observed entering the premises without the owner’s permission.
Throughout the footage, the salon’s security alarm can be heard continuously going off in the background.
Upon her return, Powers found that the salon was unlocked and her camera was still covered with tape, indicating that the door had been picked.
“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.
“And then when they were done using the bathroom for two hours, they left, and left my building completely unlocked, and did not take the tape off the camera.”
Later that day, Powers said that an EMS worker told her that the Secret Service agent in charge of securing the area “was telling people to come in and use the bathroom.”
Powers said she felt “violated” by the whole ordeal.
“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 told the outlet. “But they didn’t even have the audacity to ask for permission. They just helped themselves.”
Powers’ landlord, Brian Smith, also told Business Insider that the Secret Service “had no permission to go in there whatsoever.”
Melissa McKenzie, a spokeswoman for the Secret Service, stated that the agency has “subsequently communicated” with Powers.
“The U.S. Secret Service works closely with our partners in the business community to carry out our protective and investigative missions,” the spokeswoman said in a statement to the outlet. “The Secret Service has since communicated with the affected business owner.”
“We hold these relationships in the highest regard and our personnel would not enter, or instruct our partners to enter, a business without the owner’s permission,” she added.
On Thursday, over a week after the incident took place, the head of the Secret Service’s Boston field office called Powers to say sorry.
“He said to me everything that was done was done very wrong,” she said. “They were not supposed to tape my camera without permission. They were not supposed to enter the building without permission.”
