A Secret Service Agent Was Arrested for Indecent Exposure in Florida

Just hours after working on exterior security screening for the president, a Secret Service agent was arrested for indecent exposure while off-duty in Miami.

According to online jail records, John Spillman was being held in Miami-Dade County Jail in lieu of a $1,000 bond on May 4.

Following the news of his arrest, many people wanted to better understand what happened and how this Secret Service agent found himself under arrest to begin with. Here’s what we know.

The incident that led to Spillman’s arrest occurred at the DoubleTree by Hilton Miami Airport & Convention Center on Sunday night, and came hours after President Trump appeared at the PGA Tour’s Cadillac Championship, which was being held at his Doral golf course.

Police said they responded to a call from the hotel about a man who was naked on the sixth floor. When police arrived, they found Spillman “masturbating at the end of the hallway,” according to the arrest report.

Spillman has been placed on administrative leave by the Secret Service. After police arrested Spillman, a woman stepped out into the hallway and told them that Spillman had followed her from the lobby up to the sixth floor. “The victim advised they immediately entered their room because she was in fear for her life,” the report said.

“The victim saw the defendant masturbating next to their hotel room.” Hotel security said that they had seen the same conduct from Spillman.

Richard Macauley, chief of the U.S. Secret Service Police, said in a statement to CNBC that the Secret Service was aware of the incident. “The alleged conduct is unacceptable and stands in stark contrast to the professionalism and integrity that I demand of our personnel,” he said in a statement.

“This agency takes these matters with the utmost seriousness; consequently, the individual has been placed on administrative leave pending the results of this criminal matter and a complete and thorough internal investigation,” he continued.

The news of this incident comes as security around the president is heightened after a gunman was apprehended at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in late April. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured in that incident.

It’s unclear what Spillman’s future might be now that he’s been arrested, and the president has yet to weigh in on the case (and may never).

Although the Secret Service is not an enormous organization, it does not seem like this agent was particularly connected to the president or worked on his immediate detail, but we don't know for sure either way.

We also don’t know much about what might have motivated Spillman to act in such a lewd manner, or whether he has any history of similar incidents in the past.

As Macauley’s statement indicated, this behavior does not align with the standards the Secret Service holds itself to, which is why Spillman was placed on immediate leave. His future as an agent with the Secret Service is very much in doubt.