# What would the Secret Service do in this scenario? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 7, 2016, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-secret-service-do-in-this-scenario/770938 "2016-11-07T07:11:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![starbase89](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b19c9b/32.png) [@starbase89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starbase89)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-secret-service-do-in-this-scenario/770938/1 "2016-11-07T07:11:25Z")
This must have been asked before, but I did search and came up with zilch. Here it goes: How would the Secret Service respond to two of their protectorates about to harm one another? In other words, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton each having loaded guns aimed at each other’s heads. What would their response be, other than to pop corn and grab a beer? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-secret-service-do-in-this-scenario/770938/2 "2016-11-07T12:14:20Z")
If possible, disarm their respective charges and remove them from the scene in opposite directions, is my guess. If you’re saying they both literally have guns pressed to each others’ heads, the SS would clear the scene and try to calm things down until a professional negotiator could arrive and defuse the situation. Then they’d quit their jobs and move to a less-fucked-up country, because if the US has got to the point where both candidates are this insane there’s no hope for it anymore. ---
**Author:** ![sevenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sevenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sevenwood)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-secret-service-do-in-this-scenario/770938/3 "2016-11-07T13:10:33Z")
They would do their jobs. The folks whose assignment was to protect Donald would get in the path of Hillary’s bullet and throw themselves on top of Donald. The folks whose assignment was to protect Hillary would get in the path of Donald’s bullet and throw themselves on top of Hillary. Then each group would haul their assigned protectee away from further potential harm. Neither group would help their protectee harm the other person in any way. ---
**Author:** ![Oddball\_92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b3f665/32.png) [@Oddball\_92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oddball_92)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-secret-service-do-in-this-scenario/770938/4 "2016-11-07T13:42:47Z")
Hopefully they would do nothing but get out of the way. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-secret-service-do-in-this-scenario/770938/5 "2016-11-07T13:52:18Z")
The Secret Service guys take their jobs very seriously and don’t play politics. No matter how popular or unpopular the person they are guarding may be, they are going to defend that person no matter what. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-secret-service-do-in-this-scenario/770938/6 "2016-11-07T14:00:37Z")
What’s the situation if the subject of protection is accused of a crime? Not something where intervention might be warranted (I doubt POTUS is likely to rob a bodega), but something where they might be witnesses? Can they be called to testify? I assume that in order to do their job effectively there must be some kind of privilege that exempts them from testifying against the subject, but what’s the legal basis for that? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-secret-service-do-in-this-scenario/770938/7 "2016-11-07T14:08:24Z")
> [@starbase89](#): > > How would the Secret Service respond to two of their protectorates about to harm one another? In other words, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton each having loaded guns aimed at each other’s heads. This could be just the break the Johnson campaign needs. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-secret-service-do-in-this-scenario/770938/8 "2016-11-07T14:22:16Z")
Welcome to SD, **starbase**. Your debut shows the right spirit, down to the “I’m sure this has been discussed already…” Perhaps you are right. So even more credit. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-secret-service-do-in-this-scenario/770938/9 "2016-11-07T14:38:42Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > What’s the situation if the subject of protection is accused of a crime? Not something where intervention might be warranted (I doubt POTUS is likely to rob a bodega), but something where they might be witnesses? Can they be called to testify? I assume that in order to do their job effectively there must be some kind of privilege that exempts them from testifying against the subject, but what’s the legal basis for that? Here’s an old story from 1998 on CNN [“Judge: Secret Service Must Testify”](http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/05/22/lewinsky.scandal/) … Judge Johnson ruled that the SS had no exemption from testifying … but I have no idea if this held through the appeals process. ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-secret-service-do-in-this-scenario/770938/10 "2016-11-07T15:37:35Z")
They are trained to “disable a gun” (along with the person holding it) and have techniques to do so. The situation would be over with a quickness! Keep in mind these guys are the best of the best. They have advanced techniques, training, tools/weapons, and are QUITE good at what they do! FYI - Hillary’s weapon of choice is dishes. Some may recall she has been known to throw dishes at Bill Clinton. And this is common with many women. They have a stock of weapons all around the home. What do you think all those dishes and glass things on the walls are for? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-secret-service-do-in-this-scenario/770938/11 "2016-11-07T19:47:47Z")
> [@Me\_Billy](#): > > … > > FYI - Hillary’s weapon of choice is dishes. Some may recall she has been known to throw dishes at Bill Clinton. And this is common with many women. They have a stock of weapons all around the home. What do you think all those dishes and glass things on the walls are for? This is borne out by statistics (ignoring political silliness): far more domestic assaults are committed by men against women, but men are more often killed. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-secret-service-do-in-this-scenario/770938/12 "2016-11-07T20:16:12Z")
> [@Me\_Billy](#): > > And this is common with many women. They have a stock of weapons all around the home. What do you think all those dishes and glass things on the walls are for? Kitchen knives, trust me on this one. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-secret-service-do-in-this-scenario/770938/13 "2016-11-07T21:31:46Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > This is borne out by statistics (ignoring political silliness): far more domestic assaults are committed by men against women, but men are more often killed. Nope. Women are more than twice as likely to be killed by domestic partners than men. These numbers are broken out only by the gender of the victim, not the attacker, but I still thin they are revealing. [QUOTE=Bureau of Justice Statistics] In 2007 intimate partners committed 14% of all homicides in the U.S. The total estimated number of intimate partner homicide victims in 2007 was 2,340, including 1,640 females and 700 males. Females made up 70% of victims killed by an intimate partner in 2007, a proportion that has changed very little since 1993. [/QUOTE] PDF warning: [Home | Bureau of Justice Statistics](http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/fvv.pdf) Men are much more likely to be killed than women, but it’s rarely a man’s intimate partner that kills him. When we know who killed a woman, odds are about 50/50 it was her intimate partner. When we know who killed a man, odds are only about 1 in 16 that it was his intimate partner. Another PDF: [Home | Bureau of Justice Statistics](http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/ipvav9311.pdf) If you mean that men are more likely to be killed in any particular violent intimate partner attack, you could infer such a thing from the statistics. I wonder whether it’s actually true though, or just an artifact of statistics. I think it’s possible that men are less likely to report non-fatal intimate partner violence than women, so the total number of reported attacks on men is possibly lower, making it seem like they are relatively more likely to be killed in a particular attack. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-secret-service-do-in-this-scenario/770938/14 "2016-11-08T05:41:47Z")
If I can work the hypothetical a little further, Secret Service protection is also extended to visiting heads of state, or equivalent. Imagine a Rose Garden ceremony where the Israeli Prime Minister, a former commando and exert in KRAV MAGA!!!, appears to sign the peace treaty of the ages with the leader of the unified Palestinian people, a Hezbollah-trained infiltrator. The two leaders, turn to each other, smile, reach out, and both set in motion the SECRET PLAN: kill the other! Pretty unlikely, but IMO slightly more likely than the original. My guess is that the SS officers would, as suggested above, protect their own charges first as best they can. In the unlikely case of a real Mexican standoff, no idea, but I bet there are contingency plans.