Naomi Biden's Scary Secret Service Carjacking Incident, Explained

On Sunday, November 12, 2023, when most of the residents of the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington D.C. were sleeping, gunshots rang out. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told People, "On Nov. 12 around 11:58 p.m. in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC, Secret Service agents encountered possibly three individuals breaking a window on a parked and unoccupied government vehicle." The agents in question were assigned to President Joe Biden's granddaughter, Naomi Biden.

Fortunately, Naomi was not believed to be close to the agents at the time, though they were guarding her home. Naomi's Secret Service team reportedly witnessed three men attempting to smash the window of their unmarked, and thankfully unoccupied, government service car. Realizing that they were witnessing a carjacking in progress, one of the agents opened fire. As Guglielmi explained, "During this encounter, a federal agent discharged a service weapon and it is believed no one was struck."

He continued, "The offenders immediately fled the scene in a red vehicle, and a regional lookout was issued to supporting units. There was no threat to any protectees," likely referring to Naomi. As a result, the Metropolitan Police Department is opening an investigation to gather facts and evidence to review the agent in question's actions by the United States Attorney's Office.

Naomi Biden is the granddaughter of President Joe Biden. Much of the world was introduced to Naomi, who is Hunter Biden's daughter, when she married in a historical White House South Lawn wedding in November 2022. The chic affair, attended by close friends and family, which included the president and his wife, Jill Biden, was a landmark event as it was the first wedding held at the residence for a president's granddaughter. Although, even in general, matrimonial ceremonies at The White House are considered quite rare.

But it's worth noting that Naomi and Joe enjoyed a close relationship long before she chose 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as her wedding venue. Naomi even occasionally shares pictures of her and her grandfather on Instagram. She doesn't have to go far to visit President Biden either as Naomi and her husband, Peter Neal, are rumored to live (at least some of the time) on the third floor of The White House. This arrangement reportedly began in August 2021.

A graduate of Columbia Law School, Naomi is a practicing attorney in the Washington, D.C. area. While lawyers don't often get Secret Service protection, it seems like Naomi has a regular team watching her 'round the clock. Protection is probably needed as the eldest grandchild of President Biden, as well as someone with a highly publicized, close bond with him. 

According to the United States Secret Service, they are authorized to protect not just the president and his wife but also their immediate families. In most cases, this doesn't extend to grandchildren. However, according to the agency, they are also allowed to provide protective services to any person the president chooses as long as they issue an executive order. Joe Biden likely didn't have any issue doing so as Naomi Biden is practically immediate family, especially considering she lives at The White House.

USA Today confirms that 33 members of the Biden family are currently offered protection by a Secret Service team. Some of those individuals are family members, while others are people working in his administration. For comparison, Former President Donald Trump authorized the protection of 42 individuals, with almost half being relatives, and Former President Barack Obama had a much smaller group of 31. 

Fortunately for Naomi, it seems like the agents tasked with protecting her, allocated by her grandfather, are more than capable. Though she was informed of the incident after it happened, it seems likely that she may not have even been aware of what was occurring outside her doorstep at the time since the team handled it so swiftly. The carjacking event was no doubt scary, but it appears that Naomi is in good hands.