The Washington Examiner reports that a vehicle stolen from a former Trump administration official was used in a homicide.
Here's the kicker: the vehicle was stolen while the official was supposedly receiving full-time protection from the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service. In fact, not one but two vehicles were stolen.
The former official is Brian Hook. Former President Donald Trump had selected Hook to be the State Department's special representative for Iran.
The theft of the car occurred in December of 2022, while the homicide took place in January 2023.
On Dec. 11, 2022, two of Hook's personal vehicles, which were parked in the driveway of his Fairfax County, Virginia, residence, were stolen from him. Hook was at home at the time the thefts occurred.
Three weeks later, on Jan. 3, 2023, a shooting occurred in Washington, D.C., in the Brightwood area. The shooting took place during rush hour.
WUSA9 reported:
During a press conference Tuesday night, DC Police Chief Robert Contee said the victims were standing around a car on Georgia Avenue when a silver or gray SUV stopped in traffic. Two suspects reportedly got out of the car and opened fire on the group of men.
The shooting left one adult male dead as well as two adults and an 8-year-old boy injured.
Police were on the lookout for a "small silver or gray SUV" that was "last seen traveling southbound on Georgia Avenue."
Both of these incidents were previously reported. What was not reported, however, is the fact that it was Hook's car that was used in the shooting.
This is particularly troublesome because Hook was supposed to be receiving full-time protection from the Diplomatic Security Service at the time the vehicles were stolen. Hook, in fact, is still receiving such protection to this day due to the threats that he has received from Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is seeking revenge for the U.S.'s killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.
The Examiner reports:
Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters, one State Department official and one federal law enforcement official also confirmed the incident as described above. The sources said the Diplomatic Security Service had no idea Hook's cars were stolen until significantly later the same day.
Since then, the Diplomatic Security Service, according to the outlet, "has increased security at Hook's residence following the thefts."
Still, given the thefts, it must be disconcerting for Hook and others under the Diplomatic Security Service's protection.
