(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit with the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) seeking records concerning the reported accidental discharge in March 2026 of a Secret Service agent’s service weapon at Philadelphia International Airport while the agent was assigned to former First Lady Jill Biden’s protective detail (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Case 1:26-cv-03190)).
Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit after the Secret Service failed to respond to a March 27, 2026, request for records about the reported accidental discharge, including investigative reports, witness statements, photographs, disciplinary records, internal directives, and electronic communications among Protective Operations officials.
A Secret Service agent assigned to former first lady Jill Biden accidentally shot himself in the leg at a Philadelphia airport in March 2026. A Secret Service spokesman called it a “a non-life-threatening injury following a negligent discharge while handling a service weapon.”
The spokesman also said that the Secret Service’s Office of Professional Responsibility was going to review “the facts and circumstances of this incident.”
“A reported negligent discharge by an armed Secret Service agent assigned to a protective detail at a busy international airport raises serious questions about training, supervision, and accountability,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
In May 2026, Judicial watch sued for records related to the Obama-era 2012 Secret Service prostitution scandal in Cartagena, Colombia.
In April 2026, Judicial Watch sued the Homeland Security for records related to an August 31, 2025, incident in which a club member allegedly carried a loaded semi-automatic handgun past Secret Service screening checkpoints at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia while President Donald Trump was on site.
Also in April, Judicial Watch’s FOIA lawsuit forced the release of records from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that show that would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks was reportedly involved in an altercation with a group of people and making “hateful comments” directed at President Trump at the Butler, PA, rally site before the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt.
In February 2026, Judicial Watch’s lawsuit forced the release of the first FBI records about the Butler assassination attempt.
In December 2025, Judicial filed a FOIA lawsuit for Secret Service communications records related to Code Pink protesters who disrupted a dinner held by President Donald Trump at a restaurant in Washington, DC, on September 9, 2025.
In July 2025, Judicial Watch sued the U.S. Department of Justice for all records regarding Thomas Matthew Crooks, who attempted to assassinate Trump on July 13, 2024, (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:25-cv-02216)).
In March 2025, Judicial Watch sued Homeland Security for records related to security provided for the July 13, 2024, rally in Butler, PA, during which there was an assassination attempt on Trump (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:25-cv-00704)).
In September 2024, following up on reports that the Biden Secret Service denied Trump’s requests for additional Secret Service protection, Judicial Watch filed a FOIA lawsuit for Secret Service and other records regarding potential increased protective services to Trump’s security detail prior to the attempt on his life at his July 13 campaign rally in Butler, PA (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:24-cv-02495)).
In August 2024, Judicial Watch uncovered documents from the district attorney’s office in Butler County, PA, detailing the extensive preparation of local police for the rally at which former President Trump was shot. The preparation included sniper teams, counter assault teams and a quick response force.
In August 2024, in response to a separate open records request, Judicial Watch obtained bodycam footage of the July 13 assassination events from the Butler Township Police Department.
In September 2024, following up on reports that the Biden Secret Service denied Trump’s requests for additional Secret Service protection, Judicial Watch filed a FOIA lawsuit for Secret Service and other records regarding potential increased protective services to Trump’s security detail prior to the attempt on his life at his July 13 campaign rally in Butler, PA (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:24-cv-02495)).
In September 2024, Judicial Watch filed a FOIA lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for messages among top leaders of the Federal Bureau of Investigation referencing social media posts of Special Agent Jeffrey Veltri, head of the Miami Field Office, which is investigating the September 15 assassination attempt against Donald Trump (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:24-cv-02740)).
###
