Political Insider

In Atlanta, security guard with gun and criminal record allowed in elevator with Obama

September 16, 2014 Atlanta - President Barack Obama speaks as he meets with Emory University doctors and healthcare professionals at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Tuesday, September, 16, 2014. President Barack Obama visits the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to receive a briefing on the outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa, discuss the U.S. response, and thank the scientists, doctors, and health care workers who are helping those affected by disease at home and around the world. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM
September 16, 2014 Atlanta - President Barack Obama speaks as he meets with Emory University doctors and healthcare professionals at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Tuesday, September, 16, 2014. President Barack Obama visits the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to receive a briefing on the outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa, discuss the U.S. response, and thank the scientists, doctors, and health care workers who are helping those affected by disease at home and around the world. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM
By Jim Galloway
Sept 30, 2014

Oh, joy. From the Washington Post:

The incident occurred as Obama appeared at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to discuss the U.S. response to the Ebola crisis.

The contractor did not comply when Secret Service agents asked him to stop using a phone camera to videotape the president in the elevator, according to the people familiar with the incident.

Agents questioned him, and used a database check to learn of his criminal history.

When a supervisor from the private security firm approached and learned of the agents' concern, the contractor was fired on the spot and agreed to turn over his gun — surprising agents, who had not realized he was armed during his encounter with Obama.

About the Author

Jim Galloway, the newspaper’s former political columnist, was a writer and editor at the AJC for four decades.

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