Secret Service grounds drone in Hawaii after buzzing Obama motorcade

The Secret Service was on high-alert Monday after a recreational drone in Hawaii got a bit too close to the presidential motorcade. President Obama’s limousine had to be halted, and his trip back from enjoying an afternoon full of golf was needlessly interrupted.

This was the first Judicial Watch FOIA request about Obama’s security costs the Secret Service has answered since July, 2014. During his recent motorcade while on vacation in Hawaii, his path crossed one of the aeronautical variety. That’s was 36.9 hours at $210,877 per hour.

The known total expense to the American taxpayers thus far for all Obama travel is now $70,880,035.78. Such a reimbursement would amount to only a fraction of the total cost of most presidential travel because it does not include the cost of Secret Service protection and while a commercial airline ticket is significantly less than the cost of operating a military passenger jet.

The Secret Service asked him to take the drone down.

When it comes to President Obama’s vacation here, the paparazzi is a non-issue.

The heavily redacted records were obtained on December 28 in response to a January 6, 2014, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.