Secret Service forced to respond to report armed man approached Obama at LA restaurant

The Secret Service has been forced to respond to claims that an armed man approached Barack Obama outside a restaurant in Los Angeles on Saturday – and wasn’t stopped by the former president’s security detail.

The unnamed security guard, who wished to remain anonymous, told TMZ that he approached an SUVoutside LA restaurant Mother Wolf at around 7.30pm.

He said he had been working at a bar mitzvah above the restaurant that night and learned that federal agents were outside.

Wanting to check what was going on, the man said he left the venue and saw two agents in an alleyway to his right, while a black SUV with Department of Homeland Security plates was to his left.

Assuming there was a dignitary inside the vehicle, and after snapping a photo of it, the man said he decided to approach the SUV, but was startled to see the former president sat in the backseat using a laptop.

Being armed at the time, the man said he feared Obama’s security detail would consider him a threat, and so quickly backed away and greeted the two men in the alleyway.

He said he learned that the two men were Secret Service agents, adding that they seemed surprised to see him.

About 30 minutes later, he said his boss asked him to hand over his credentials and license to carry a concealed weapon for the Secret Service to check.

The security guard described the alleged incident as “definitely a security lapse on their part that there was no one on the backside of SUV, nor covering the stairwell.” He claimed he could have easily tried to open the car door, saying the agents in the alleyway were “obviously embarrassed by the situation.”

Following the claims, the Secret Service denied the man’s version of events, calling it “inaccurate.”

“The Secret Service