Secret Service agents taped over security cameras in an attempt to gain access to a Massachusetts salon’s bathroom ahead of a fundraiser for Kamala Harris, the salon owner has complained.
Alicia Powers, owner of Four One Three Salon in Pittsfield. said According to Business Insider, the restaurant was closed on July 27th at the request of the Secret Service because it was located behind the Colonial Theatre where Harris spoke.
She said investigators had already been to her salon earlier that week to canvass the area for security reasons, but she did not expect them to return because she had already locked the premises.
“We also had a lot of people coming in and out to do bomb disposals, and I completely understand that they had to do that because of the nature of the situation,” Powers told the outlet. “And at that point, my team felt like things were a little chaotic and we made the decision to close on Saturday.”
Security camera footage shared by Powers shows the moment a Secret Service agent approaches the salon door with a roll of tape, then climbs onto a chair to hide the lens.
At this point, the Secret Service had reached 1,000 hits.
“A Massachusetts hair salon owner said Secret Service agents taped off security cameras and entered the salon while securing the area for a Kamala Harris campaign event.”
The intrusion occurred on July 27th prior to… pic.twitter.com/fX13C2lJhQ— Literally Heather (@Shouse34) August 9, 2024
A second video captured by a different camera inside the salon shows multiple paramedics and police officers entering the salon, one of whom can be seen stealing a small item from Powers’ desk.
Over the course of roughly two hours, multiple individuals are seen entering the business without the owner’s permission, all the while the salon’s security alarm can be heard blaring in the background of the video.
Powers said when she returned to the salon, she found the door had appeared to have been picked, but it was unlocked and the camera was still taped over.
“For about an hour and a half, there were several people going in and out. They were using my bathroom without permission, the alarm was going off, they were using the counter,” she said.
“And then after their two-hour restroom session, they left, they left my building without locking it up, and they didn’t even remove the tape over the cameras.”
Later that day, Powers said she heard from emergency responders that Secret Service agents in charge of security in the area were “instructing people to go inside and use the bathroom.”
Powers said she felt “violated” by the turn of events.
“Anyone who was visiting, famous or not, I would probably open the door, bring them some coffee, some doughnuts and have a great afternoon,” she told the outlet, “but they didn’t even have the audacity to ask permission and just took it.”
Powers’ landlord, Brian Smith, also told Business Insider that the Secret Service “never had permission to be there.”
Secret Service spokeswoman Melissa McKenzie said the agency has “been in contact with Mr. Powers since then.”
“The U.S. Secret Service works closely with our partners in the business community to carry out our protective and investigative mission,” a spokesperson said in a statement to the outlet. “The Secret Service has since been in contact with the affected business owners.”
“We hold these relationships in the highest regard and our employees will not enter or instruct our partners to enter business premises without the owner’s permission,” she added.
On Thursday, more than a week after the incident, the head of the Secret Service’s Boston field office called Powers and apologized.
“He told me that everything that had been done was very wrong,” she said. “I should not have had my camera recording without my permission, and I should not have been allowed into the building without permission.”
The salon owner added that the person he spoke to offered to cover the costs of cleaning the salon and paying the alarm company for the day, as well as visiting the business to apologise in person.
Powers said he would accept it.
