Authorities have reportedly arrested an illegal alien after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse was stolen from a Washington, DC, restaurant over the Easter weekend.
D.C. Metro Police and Secret Service officials made the arrest on Saturday, the New York Post reported. However, the outlet noted another suspected illegal is being sought in the case, per sources.
The Post article said the identity of the suspect who is in custody was not immediately available to the public.
Mask-wearing thief who allegedly stole Kristi Noem’s Gucci bag containing $3K in cash, passport arrested: sources https://t.co/yqT8pbzulZ pic.twitter.com/QPg7GHHNic
— New York Post (@nypost) April 26, 2025
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials are now involved in the investigation, per NBC Chicago. He also explained that authorities do not believe the individual arrested targeted Noem due to her status as DHS secretary, but merely because her bag was “a nice looking purse.”
In regard to ICE’s involvement, Martin stated that “President Trump’s direction to us is we charge these folks that are here illegally and we prosecute them as well as deport them when need be, you know, as soon as that can happen.”
When the incident happened, Noem’s bag contained $3,000 cash, her passport, makeup bag, DHS access card, apartment key, and other personal items such as medications, according to Breitbart News.
During a recent interview, she detailed what happened and said it was “very professionally done”:
Holy F'ck 🔥
— @Chicago1Ray 🇺🇸 (@Chicago1Ray) April 23, 2025
Kristi Noem says the swiping of her purse was professionally done 🚨
Keep in mind, she has Secret Service protection around the clock, whoever did this wanted to see what was in her phone
Watch how she describes what took place
One conclusion... Inside Job 💯% pic.twitter.com/CxCoGzqigf
Officials believe the suspect in custody is among others involved in a robbery group. The incident happened inside Capital Burger where Noem was sharing a meal with her family, according to NBC 4.
The outlet also said Noem’s Secret Service detail was reportedly at the scene when her bag was swiped:
According to the NBC Chicago article, “Three days before Noem’s handbag was stolen, another woman eating with her own family at a nearby eatery had her purse taken in a similar manner, records show.”
“NBC News discovered the similarities in the two incidents after requesting reports of thefts in the neighborhood from the DC Metropolitan Police Department,” the report stated.
