A U.S. Secret Service agent, Marquez Christopher Pinder, and two other men face serious charges after a violent fraternity hazing incident in Miami. Authorities report that the hazing involved brutal beatings and left two individuals with severe injuries requiring hospitalization.
Pinder, aged 29, is associated with the Miami field office of the Secret Service and served as the “dean of pledges” for the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity chapter in Miami. The Secret Service has placed Pinder on administrative leave and is cooperating with the investigation. He has been released on a $75,000 bond and is set to appear in court on September 24.
The Miami-Dade County state attorney’s office revealed that the charges, filed last week, include evidence of hazing with canes and paddles. Two victims sustained injuries that could have been life-threatening without medical treatment. One required skin grafts due to severe injuries and suffered kidney damage, while the other needed a breathing tube to assist with respiration.
Pinder has been a Secret Service agent since 2023, and any misconduct will be addressed once investigations conclude, according to Michael Townsend, special agent in charge of the Miami field office.
The hazing charges, as outlined by Miami-Dade County state attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, serve as a reminder of the severe consequences of hazing in Florida, where it’s considered a crime with penalties of up to five years in prison for cases leading to injury or death.
The arrest warrant details a series of beatings over four nights in early April at off-campus locations. The incidents ceased on the fourth night when one victim started bleeding visibly. Both victims were instructed to remove their clothing, which was then disposed of in garbage bags.
One victim required hospitalization for severe pain, vomiting, and high fever. The victim’s condition warranted skin graft surgery on his buttocks and intense treatment for kidney issues. The other victim, while denying hazing, received emergency care for injuries and was intubated to prevent further deterioration.
Florida’s anti-hazing legislation, enacted in 2005, came as a reaction to the tragic 2001 drowning of Chad Meredith, a University of Miami student urged to swim by fraternity members under the influence of alcohol.
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