WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 (UPI) — A White House aide who allegedly shot at her Capitol Hill police boyfriend with his service weapon is facing an assault charge Tuesday.
Barvetta Singletary, 37, special assistant to President Obama and House legislative affairs liaison, has been placed on unpaid leave and her access to the White House has been revoked. She was released from jail Monday after posting $75,000 bond.
Police said Singletary sent her boyfriend a text on Friday asking him to go to her home for sex. She then confronted him about another woman he was dating, grabbed his service weapon from a bag in his car and pointed at him. When he refused to give her his password to his cellphone, she allegedly fired one round toward him.
“You taught me how to use this. Don’t think I won’t use it,” she allegedly said to her boyfriend, according to charging documents. The boyfriend ran from Singletary’s home and called police.
Singletary was previously deputy chief of staff to Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn before moving to the White House in 2014. Capitol Police are investigating the incident.
“We are investigating the matter, mindful of the underlying criminal investigation,” a Capitol Police spokeswoman said. “Department employees are held to a high standard of conduct and the matter will receive a thorough review consistent with our policies and procedures.”
