President Donald Trump’s dinner at an upscale Washington, D.C. seafood restaurant on Tuesday, September 10, was disrupted when Code Pink protesters confronted him face-to-face, prompting fury from MAGA supporters who questioned Secret Service security protocols.
Trump, accompanied by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, visited Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab on Tuesday evening to demonstrate that the capital was safer following his decision to deploy National Guard officers in Washington.
Members of the Code Pink activist group shouted “Free D.C! Free Palestine!” and “Trump is the Hitler of our time!” while positioned just feet away from the president. The feminist grassroots organization had managed to secure a table inside the restaurant next to Trump’s party.
Code Pink’s D.C. organizer Olivia DiNucci told The Daily Beast the group reserved a table at the swanky restaurant, where king crab claws cost nearly $160, in order to confront Trump. DiNucci indicated they thought it would just be Trump dining, not knowing his entire Cabinet would be present, and were surprised to be placed so close to the presidential party in an open room rather than a separate area.
The incident marked Trump’s first dinner out in Washington as president, except at his own hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue. Videos circulating on social media showed Trump walking toward the protesters and appearing to smirk before gesturing for them to leave and having them escorted out by Secret Service agents.
Florida Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna questioned whether someone within the Secret Service had leaked the president’s location to Code Pink. Luna asked on social media how the protesters were allowed so close to Trump and whether there was someone in the Secret Service who revealed his dining location, stating the incident needed investigation.
Pro-Trump podcaster Graham Allen expressed concern about how Code Pink knew Trump’s location for what was not a public event, questioning why they were able to shout at the president for an extended period. Far-right activist Laura Loomer suggested the incident was so dangerous that House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is behind Vance in the presidential succession line, could have ended up as president.
Loomer claimed the situation was unacceptable and that Trump could have been assassinated, alleging the protesters could have stabbed or shot him. She questioned whether there was a Hamas sympathizer working at the Secret Service and called for someone to be fired over the security breach. However, there appears to be no evidence of an assassination attempt or that the protesters were armed.
The criticism comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the Secret Service following security failures that allowed a gunman to climb onto a roof and open fire at Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024. That incident left the then-78-year-old candidate with a minor ear injury.
The restaurant confrontation occurred on the final day of Trump’s 30-day emergency order controlling local police officers, which was set to lapse at midnight Wednesday. The deployment of National Guard troops from eight Republican states was expected to continue, with no indication Trump would release his grip on the city and send the guards home.
The White House and Secret Service were contacted for comment by The Daily Beast but had not responded at the time of publication. The incident has reignited debates about presidential security protocols and the ability of protest groups to gain access to venues where the president is dining.
