White House Staffer Arrested: Obama Assistant Arrested After Heated Argument With Boyfriend Turns Violent
A White House staffer was arrested late Friday after she got into a heated argument with her boyfriend that led to violence.
Fox News reports that Barvetta Singletary, 37, was arrested after she shot a gun at her boyfriend — who’s an officer with the U.S. Capitol Police. The woman, who’s a special assistant to President Obama, is also a legislative liaison. She was charged with domestic violence after she fired off her gun at her unidentified boyfriend. The incident took place in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
According to police, Singletary contacted the man by text message, and the two had sex. Soon after their encounter, Singletary went to her boyfriend’s car with him and accused him of cheating on her. Singletary went inside the car, allegedly taking the man’s cellphones and his service weapon, demanding all of the passwords to unlock messages stored on the devices.
The White House staffer who was arrested said that she told the man that he “taught” her how to use the devices and said, “Don’t think I won’t use it.”
Police explain that Singletary pointed the gun toward the man shot one round. He managed to run away and call police. Singletary was then arrested at the scene.
A White House spokesperson spoke of the incident on Monday.
“We are aware of the matter and have temporarily placed the employee in question on unpaid leave and revoked her access to the complex until we have more information. We will take additional actions as needed. For further questions, I would refer you to the Prince George’s County Police Department.”
Barvetta Singletary reportedly arrived at the White House a year ago after working as deputy chief of staff and policy director to Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., who’s the third-ranking Democratic in the House.
The White House staffer is a graduate of Hemingway High School and Howard University, Washington, D.C. Additionally, she’s the daughter of Councilwoman, W. Jeanie Brown-Burrows and the late Bobby Singletary.
ABC News further reports that Singletary has also been charged with assault and reckless endangerment in her role of the shooting. The source goes on to say that the one round fired from Singletary’s gun hit the floor.
The White House staffer arrested in this incident is under investigation. It’s unclear what will happen in this case, or if Singletary could lose her job in the White House over the incident.
[Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images]
