“The Secret Service agent warned [California Sen. Alex] Padilla, whom agents did not recognize as a senator and who wasn’t wearing his Senate pin, to back away from Noem and then forcibly removed him when he ignored their entreaties. ‘They can represent this however they want, but those agents made the right decision to get him out of the room,’ Charles Marino, a former Secret Service agent told RealClearPolitics. ‘He did not have a congressional pin on, he was yelling and closing distance very quickly to make it to the front of the room to confront Noem. Look, he’s not above the law. Anyone taking those actions would been treated far worse – they would have been arrested and been forced to spend some time in jail….”

Writes Susan Crabtree, in “Secret Service Followed Protocol in Padilla Incident” (Real Clear Politics).

“‘Any sudden movement towards a protectee that feels threatening, especially when that person has not been identified, the policy is 100% to prevent further escalation or movement toward Noem,’ said a source in the Secret Service community…. After the two assassination attempts against Trump, agents are highly attuned to aggressive behavior and working to ensure they’re not involved in any security lapses….”
Apparently, they didn’t know who he was, but what if they had? Is he saying he deserves special treatment? The “Don’t You Know Who I Am?!” argument ought to fail.
The protectee was protected by those entrusted with protecting her.