The masked bandit who stole Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s pricey Gucci bag containing $3,000 in cash and other personal items has been arrested, sources told The Post Saturday.
Noem, 53, was on an Easter outing with her family at The Capital Burger in Washington, DC, when the hooded thief stole the luxury shoulder bag, which also contained her driver’s license, passport, DHS badge and apartment keys on April 20.
The suspect’s identity was not immediately available. The perp is expected to appear in court early next week, sources said.
The bag, available for $4,400 per the label’s website, was on the ground at the former South Dakota governor’s table when it was taken, according to a complaint filed with local police.
The high-end purse also contained a Louis Vuitton Clemence Purse inside, which sells for $600, according to the report.
Security footage captured a white man in a N95 surgical mask, dark pants, a “fur-type” collar and a ball cap lift the DHS honcho’s bag before leaving the restaurant located about a mile from the White House.
The suspect glanced around the restaurant before grabbing Noem’s bag, covering it with his jacket and then hustling out of the restaurant, according to sources who described the video.
“It was kind of shocking, actually, because it was sitting right by my feet. I actually felt my purse — he hooked with his foot and drug it a few steps away and dropped a coat over it and took it,” Noem, who oversees the Secret Service, US Customs and Border Protection and the Coast Guard, recounted to podcaster Vince Coglianese.
“I thought it was my grandkids kicking me in the legs, but it was very professionally done,” she added on the “Vince” podcast.
“It tells me that this happens all the time to people, and that they live in communities where this is a danger and it reaffirms why I’m here.”
The Secret Service provides security for the secretary, as it does for the president and other high-ranking officials. It was unclear whether the detail was inside the restaurant at the time of the robbery.
Noem said she was unsure if she was targeted based on her role as DHS boss, and deferred to investigators about the thief’s motives.
It is unknown which law enforcement agency apprehended the suspect.
DHS did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
