XPost: dc.politics, alt.law-enforcement, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
XPost: sac.politics, talk.politics.guns
The mask-wearing thief who stole Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem's purse on Easter, which contained her DHS badge, passport, driver's license, mobile phone, and $3,000 in cash, has been arrested. The New York Post first reported the information exclusively:
The masked bandit who stole Homeland Security Kristi Noem�s pricey Gucci
bag containing $3,000 in cash and other personal items has been arrested, sources told The Post Saturday.
Noem, 53, was on an Easter outing with her family at The Capital Burger in Washington, DC, when the hooded thief stole the luxury shoulder bag, which
also contained her driver�s license, passport, DHS badge and apartment
keys on April 20.
Local Washington, D.C., NBC4 News picked up the story, and alluded to a
second suspect being sought:
A second person is being still being sought, the same law enforcment
sources told News4 and NBC News.
[...]
The suspect was a white male wearing dark clothing, a dark-colored
baseball hat and a white N95 mask, according to two sources familiar with
the surveillance footage.
That person entered Capital Burger at 7:55 p.m., sat near Noem�s table,
scooted closer and used his foot to slide her purse toward him, according
to surveillance footage viewed by law enforcement, sources said. Within minutes, the man picked up Noem�s purse, placed it under his jacket,
walked out of the restaurant and down the street, they said.
While some reports alleged that Noem may have been targeted because she is
the DHS Secretary, according to NBC News, D.C. Metro police records
indicated that another woman was targeted at a nearby eatery three days
prior to the theft of Noem's purse, with a similar MO:.
NBC News discovered the similarities in the two incidents after requesting reports of thefts in the neighborhood from the DC Metropolitan Police Department.
It�s not clear if the two incidents are connected, but the victim in the
first purse snatching believes they are.
�I�m shocked at the similarity of the crime,� she told NBC News when she described how her purse was stolen Thursday at a restaurant in the
downtown Westin Hotel.
My colleague Brandon Morse pondered how the Secret Service could have
dropped the ball on this, to allow a suspect to get close enough to steal
the purse. Noem herself told podcast host Vince Coglianese soon after the incident that the job was "professionally done":
�It was kind of shocking, actually, because it was sitting right by my
feet. I actually felt my purse � he hooked with his foot and drug it a few steps away and dropped a coat over it and took it,� the 53-year-old
recounted to podcaster Vince Coglianese Wednesday.
�I thought it was my grandkids kicking me in the legs, but it was very professionally done,� she added on the �Vince� podcast. �It tells me that
this happens all the time to people, and that they live in communities
where this is a danger and it reaffirms why I�m here.�
NBC News received information from a source at the restaurant that Noem
had two, plain-clothes Secret Service members watching Noem and her family
from the nearby bar in the restaurant.
The Secret Service is handling the investigation. As of this writing, the
name of the suspect in custody has not been released, and no charges have
been filed.
https://redstate.com/jenniferoo/2025/04/26/masked-thief-who-lifted-dhs- sec-kristi-noems-purse-arrested-n2188365
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