Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, incorrectly defined habeas corpus. What does habeas corpus do? Has it ever been suspended? What to know.

A federal magistrate judge has ordered the pretrial detention of a man charged with stealing a purse from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem while she dined at a restaurant under the protection of Secret Service agents.

For those unfamiliar, habeas corpus is the constitutional right of due process, in person, in front of a court or judge. But appearing at a hearing on Tuesday, Noem defined it incorrectly as a “right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country.”