A US Secret Service member was detained by Israel Police and sent back to the US after becoming drunk in the Machane Yehudah shuk, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.

Ynet reported that a woman told the police that the agent was drinking at a bar in the shuk with a colleague and assaulted her when she criticized him for his rowdy behavior. According to the report, he either pushed her or hit her.

The woman called the police, who detained and questioned the agent but did not press charges. He was sent back to the US on Monday, according to a Secret Service statement on Wednesday.

“The agent was allegedly involved in a physical encounter,” the statement said. “In accordance with agency protocol, his access to Secret Service systems and facilities was suspended pending further investigation.”

A large number of US secret service agents and other security officials arrived in Israel ahead of Biden’s visit.

A previous incident involving a Secret Service agent occurred in May prior to Biden’s arrival in South Korea. A Secret Service agent and another US security official were sent home after getting drunk and becoming embroiled in an argument with a taxi driver.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)