U.S. marshals waived training rules for Musk's armed DOGE security, emails say
Source: NBC News
April 6, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT
Members of Elon Musk’s private security team were deputized as federal agents last year even though some of the billionaire’s guards lacked the required training and law enforcement experience, according to newly released government emails. The emails shed new light on how the U.S. Marshals Service responded to Musk’s entourage during his five-month stint in the second Trump administration.
The agency in February 2025 approved a request that it said came from the White House to deputize Musk’s bodyguards, a decision that allowed them to carry weapons in some federal buildings and continue protecting him. Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, was a senior adviser to President Donald Trump and oversaw the Department of Government Efficiency from January of last year until his rocky exit in May.
The Marshals Service released the emails and related documents in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act filed by Democracy Forward, a progressive advocacy group that has been investigating Musk’s tenure in the Trump administration. The group, which filed a lawsuit last year to get the records, shared them with NBC News.
The Marshals Service first considered deputizing Musk’s security detail during the first week of February, according to the emails, as Musk was immersed in trying to dismantle federal agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development. But there was a potential hiccup: Musk’s security detail did not meet what the Marshals Service considered to be the basic requirements to be deputized as federal law enforcement.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/elon-musk/elon-musk-trump-government-doge-security-rcna266088
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