"We keep no secrets and we offer no services."
So goes a joke shared by members of the Secret Service, according to U.S. Secret Service Resident Agent Jim Fitton. But last night at Jean-Bertrand Aristide's public address on "The Future of Democracy in Haiti" in Webster Hall, agents were far from joking around.
As Aristide left the stage after the speech, the Secret Service went into action, quickly surrounding the deposed president.
But Aristide caught them off guard, moving towards the yellow cord dividing the audience from the stage area to greet enthusiastic fans waiting for autographs. The agents became visibly more tense.
Sgt. Croteau, a member of the bomb squad, said the Service does not like it when the person they are protecting does not follow protocol.
"They hate it when a guy does that, because they have everything planned," Croteau said. "Reagan was famous for it," he added.
These U.S. law enforcement agents are responsible for protecting the President, Vice President and foreign dignitaries.
"We provide 24-hour coverage," said Fitton, who has been in the Service for 19 years.
Fitton said he has been in Hanover since Monday, arranging the advance set-up security measures before the detail protecting Aristide arrived.
His duties included assessing Webster and the traffic patterns in Hanover, as well as briefing Hanover Police, Lebanon Police, the Hanover Fire Department and Safety and Security, Fitton said.
Under the cover of light snow, Aristide arrived shortly after 8 p.m, escorted on stage by a hovering group of eight Secret Service men.
Once on stage, the security left Aristide unattended except for a plain-clothes Hanover law enforcement officer.
At all times during the speech, there were two agents stoically observing the crowd from ground-level positions on each side of the stage; two standing by the doors located on the second-floor balcony; as well as a varying number at the left side of the stage where Aristide entered.
Audience members with bags were checked at the door by two members of the U.S. Army Bomb Squad as soon as they entered. The bomb squad investigated Webster earlier in the day .
Fitton was terse in releasing information relating to the Secret Service procedures because "it would defeat the purpose" of the agents.
Hanover Police Sgt. Christopher O'Conner said with visits such as Hillary Clinton and Aristide, the Secret Service calls the shots.
"Whenever the Secret Service gets involved, they set the protocol they will do and then they contact us," O'Conner said.
Throughout the speech, the Secret Service was in constant motion, working inside as well as outside, preparing Aristide's limousine for a quick exit at the end of the evening. .
"We're kind of like a basketball team," Fitton said. "We keep moving."
One plainclothes law enforcement member said the Service never gives out the exact number of agents.
A Hanover Police officer, speaking to Rob Rogers '97, said there were twice as many agents here as there were for Clinton's visit, Rogers said.
In December, Rogers said he was harassed by agents while he was standing in the Hop because he had his hands in his pockets.
"Four guys came over and wanted to know why I had my hands in my pockets," Rogers said. "They told me to take them out. Maybe they thought I had a gun or something."
All in a day's work.
