Secret Service agent charged over violent hazing ritual that gave victim kidney damage

Secret Service agent charged over violent hazing ritual that gave victim kidney damage Secret Service agent Marquez Christopher Pinder, 29, allegedly beating University of Miami fraternity members, leaving two young men with life-threatening injuries A US Secret Service agent is among three men accused of carrying out a violent fraternity hazing ritual that left two young men with life-threatening injuries. Marquez Christopher Pinder, 29, who works in the Secret Service's Miami field office, was arrested alongside two others over alleged hazing incidents linked to a Miami chapter of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. Prosecutors claim the victims were repeatedly beaten with canes and paddles over four nights in April, with both later needing hospital treatment. Pinder, who worked as a Secret Service agent since 2023, has been charged with hazing with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with great bodily harm and attempted manslaughter. According to court documents, he is described as the chapter's "dean of pledges". Police allege the beatings took place at an apartment and an off-campus home after the two prospective members failed to correctly answer questions about the fraternity and its history. Pinder's arrest warrant said the assaults only stopped on the fourth night when blood was seen soaking through one victim's trousers. Investigators allege fraternity leaders then instructed both men to remove their clothes, place them in rubbish bags and go home. Court documents state one victim later suffered severe pain, vomiting and fevers before being admitted to hospital. He underwent skin grafts to his buttocks and was treated for kidney damage. The warrant says that without emergency treatment, "his injuries would have resulted in renal failure leading to death". A second victim initially denied being paddled, according to the investigators, but medical records showed he had also been hospitalised with severe injuries. The warrant states he was "was intubated during his stay in the hospital to prevent further physical deterioration and death." In a statement, Michael Townsend, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Miami field office said: "Any misconduct will be addressed swiftly and appropriately upon completion of the investigative and judicial process." A spokesman for Kappa Alpha Psi did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Florida made hazing a felony in 2005 where it results in serious injury of death. The law was introduced after the 2001 death of University of Miami freshman Chad Meredith, who drowned after drinking alcohol and attempting to swim across a lake at the urging of fraternity leaders. Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said: "In Florida, hazing is abuse and it is a crime. Its victims too often lie in their graves and in hospital beds."