Two suspects arrested for theft of Kristi Noem’s purse, Secret Service says

Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the theft last week of the US homeland security secretary Kristi Noem’s purse as she ate at a Washington DC restaurant, officials said Sunday.

Noem’s purse was nabbed on Easter Sunday and reportedly contained about $3,000 in cash and her keys, driver’s license, passport and homeland security badge. The homeland security department said Noem had cash in her purse to pay for gifts, dinner and other activities for her family on Easter.

A suspect was taken into custody without incident in Washington after an investigation by the US Secret Service and the Metropolitan police department, according to a statement from Matt McCool, a Secret Service agent in Washington.

That suspect was arrested on Saturday, the police department said.

In a prepared statement, McCool called the suspect a “serial offender” and said there was no evidence Noem had been targeted because of her position.

The Metropolitan police department said the suspect was connected to two other purse thefts in Washington restaurants earlier this month through video evidence. The suspect was charged with robbery for the other incidents.

The Secret Service referred questions to the US attorney’s office, which did not respond to emails seeking more information.

Noem thanked law enforcement agencies “for finding and arresting the criminal who stole my bag on Easter Sunday as I shared a meal with my family”.

“This individual is a career criminal who has been in our country illegally for years,” Noem said in a prepared statement. DHS did not immediately respond to an email requesting further detail on the suspect’s immigration status.

Later on Sunday, the Secret Service said a second suspect, believed to be a co-conspirator in the theft of Noem’s bag and other robberies, had been arrested in Miami with assistance from Miami Beach police and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents.