A member of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s protective detail was arrested in Brussels after allegedly getting into a fight with staff at the hotel he was securing for Rubio’s visit a few days later.
The Diplomatic Security Service veteran was a senior agent and shift supervisor sent to Brussels as part of the advance party responsible for conducting security preparations for Rubio’s visit for the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting on April 3 and 4.
On March 31, the agent got into a fight with staff at the Hotel Amigo after they refused to keep the bar open past its usual hours, the Washington Examiner reported. When the night manager tried to convince the agent to go back to his room, he allegedly became physically aggressive, prompting hotel staff to call the police, two sources told the paper.
The DSS agent then allegedly got into an altercation with numerous responding officers, leading to his arrest. He was released from police custody later that day after the U.S. Embassy intervened.
Rubio stayed in the same hotel a few days later when he was in Brussels attending the NATO meeting, according to the Examiner.
A State Department spokesman told the paper, “The Diplomatic Security Service is aware of allegations of an incident involving an employee in Brussels, Belgium, on March 31, 2025. While we don’t discuss specific personnel matters, the allegations are being examined.”
Brussels police responded to the Examiner’s request for comment by saying, “Are you requesting confirmation of the arrest? Please note that we cannot provide details about the circumstances.” The department then failed to respond to follow-up inquiries.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the State Department for comment.
The DDS is the agency responsible for protecting American diplomats and diplomatic compounds around the world. It also investigates crimes such as passport and visa fraud.
During Rubio’s trip to Brussels, he met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and tried to downplay concerns that the U.S. is abandoning the trans-Atlantic alliance, the AP reported.
“The United States is as active in NATO as it has ever been,” Rubio told reporters before the meeting. “And some of this hysteria and hyperbole that I see in the global media and some domestic media in the United States about NATO is unwarranted.”
U.S. allies are wary of President Donald Trump’s cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin—who sees NATO as a threat—and his attacks on fellow NATO members Canada and Denmark.
