On Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris and four Cabinet secretaries flying aboard Marine Two… as their destination reported a security breach
The site, Joint Base Andrews, reported two introducers, one with a firearm.
“The 316th Security Forces Group and local authorities concluded a full sweep of Joint Base Andrews Monday morning and found confirmatory evidence that the base intruder on the loose had departed the installation,” the base said in a statement Monday morning.
“The other individual, a 17-year old male, was apprehended at the scene in possession of a firearm and remains in custody.”
Joint Base Andrews — a military base outside Washington, D.C. — may have experienced one of the more serious security breaches in its entire history.
Thankfully, no one has reported any gunshots or injuries. The four Cabinet secretaries — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan — all left the site safely, a White House official told The Washington Post.
The vice president’s office told the Post on Sunday that she had already left the base by 9 p.m., the reported time of the breach.
Before landing in Maryland, Harris and the Cabinet members had visited Selma, Alabama, the site of the famous 1965 Civil Rights march.
Harris was speaking to commemorate the anniversary Bloody Sunday: an incident in which law enforcement officers clubbed and arrested certain protestors. She sparked controversy for discussing Jim Crow in the same speech as the Republicans’ bills to maintain election integrity.
Those who marched in Selma, marched for the freedom to vote and all the rights and freedoms that voting unlocks: economic justice, social justice, racial justice. We must do the same.
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) March 7, 2022
“At a different time, we again, however, find ourselves caught in between — between injustice and justice, between disappointment and determination, still in a fight to form a more perfect union — and nowhere is that more clear than when it comes to ongoing fight to secure the freedom to vote,” Harris said, presumably referring to the stalled Freedom To Vote Act of 2021.
She went on to denounce the GOP’s election bills as “undemocratic laws, un-American laws.”
Read the base’s full statement here —
The 316th Security Forces Group and local authorities concluded a full sweep of Joint Base Andrews Monday morning and found confirmatory evidence that the base intruder on the loose had departed the installation. The other individual, a 17-year old male, was apprehended at the scene in possession of a firearm and remains in custody.
“I am incredibly proud of the quick actions of our Defenders to immediately deploy the barriers to stop last night’s stolen vehicle and then apprehend one of the individuals that had a weapon. The Defenders handled the intense situation with discipline and calm professionalism,” said Col. Tyler Schaff, 316th Wing and Joint Base Andrews installation commander. “We are also thankful for our partnerships with local authorities, who responded rapidly on base to assist the 316th Security Forces Group throughout the night.”
Units from Prince George’s County Police, Maryland State Police, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the Office of Special Investigation were among those who worked alongside Joint Base Andrews Defenders to fully clear the base.
At approximately 3 a.m. today, the Main Gate at Joint Base Andrews reopened to full capacity, approximately six hours after its initial closure.
“I apologize for the inconvenience some experienced while traveling to and from base last night,” said Schaff. “We appreciate everyone’s understanding and patience as the installation was being searched. The safety of our personnel is always our top priority, and your cooperation helped make it possible for our Defenders and partners to thoroughly and swiftly search the base. Our Defenders remain committed and ready to safeguard the base at every hour of every day. I remain proud of them.”
An investigation of the incident is ongoing.
The Horn editorial team