Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn resigned Friday in an internal agency email, with his last day set for November 7, according to reporting by Susan Crabtree of RealClearPolitics (RCP). The resignation comes as the agency faces scrutiny over its counter-drone program and allegations that it may have shot down one of its own drones during last year’s Army-Navy football game in Baltimore, then presented the incident publicly as a successful intercept.
Quinn originally retired from the Secret Service in 2021. He then spent three years as a senior vice president at Fortem Technologies, the manufacturer of the DroneHunter counter-drone system, before returning to the Secret Service last year as deputy director.
That prior employment is now at the center of questions about potential conflicts of interest. Quinn appeared alongside Secret Service Director Sean Curran in a 60 Minutes segment last Sunday that highlighted the agency’s counter-drone capabilities, including a demonstration of the DroneHunter. His past work for Fortem was not disclosed during the broadcast. RCP reports that current and former agents have raised questions about whether Quinn recused himself from decisions involving the agency’s purchases of Fortem’s technology.
The Army-Navy Game Incident
The scrutiny also centers on an incident at last December’s Army-Navy football game, held in Baltimore and attended by President Trump, Cabinet officials, and members of Congress. The 60 Minutes segment reported that the Secret Service used electronic jamming equipment to down a drone during the game. But according to RCP’s sources, the drone brought down may have actually belonged to the Secret Service itself, in what one source described as a “friendly fire” or “blue-on-blue” incident.
One source told RCP that a tactical unit became “trigger happy” during the game and failed to coordinate with the team operating the agency’s own surveillance drone before taking it down. Agents reportedly celebrated the takedown at first, believing they had intercepted a hostile drone, before realizing the aircraft belonged to their own agency. Sources told RCP the downed drone fell on or near Interstate 395.
RCP also reports that the DroneHunter system has had technical issues that have delayed or limited its full deployment by the Secret Service, raising further questions about Quinn’s role in decisions to purchase the technology from his former employer.
The episode comes as the agency continues to face broader questions about operational readiness following the communications failures identified after the July 2024 assassination attempt against President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
