Armed Man Approaches Barack Obama’s SUV Despite Secret Service Presence
1:15 PM PT — A rep for Secret Service tells TMZ … “The Secret Service cannot provide the details on our means and methods of protection, but we can confirm that at no time were any Secret Service protectees in the vehicle while the individual was walking down the alleyway. These claims are inaccurate. The photo in question was upon departure and not during the alleged incident.”
However, TMZ has spoken with an eyewitness who tells us the armed security guard approached the window and observed Obama inside using a laptop … and because the guard was armed, he quickly moved away from the SUV.
Barack Obama coming inches away from an armed stranger in a Hollywood alleyway is the latest stunning lapse of Secret Service security — an absolutely shocking scene that played out last weekend … TMZ has learned.
The former president was sitting in the back seat of his SUV Saturday around 7:30 PM outside hot spot restaurant Mother Wolf — and that’s when the armed man approached the vehicle, in his capacity as a security guard for a bar mitzvah going on upstairs from the restaurant.
We’ve reached out to the Secret Service about the Obama incident, but no word back yet. Coincidentally, a Senate committee issued its final report today on the agency’s failures in protecting Trump — and now it could have more explaining to do.
Originally Published — 11:10 AM PT