The security guard fired after accompanying President Barack Obama in an elevator at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta says dismissal was unjust. Kenneth Tate was carrying a gun on the elevator which is against Secret Service protocols, although it was a CDC-issued firearm.

Tate says that it was like a nightmare to go through the whole ordeal. "From the reports, I was some stranger that entered the elevator," he told the New York Times. "I mean, I was appointed."

The security guard has worked for a decade as a CDC contractor. He was appointed to accompany the president and was following CDC rules when he held the firearm. It wasn't until a week later that investigations found out about the gun.

Secret Service protocols say that, only agents and officers for the agency should be armed while in proximity to the president. But Tate had a firearm during the president's visit in September.

Investigations also revealed former Director of Secret Service, Julia Pierson, did not inform the White House that Tate was armed. Pierson resigned after a series of security incidents, including this one.

She was also director when a fence jumper armed with a knife gained entry to the White House, calling into question her negligence of proper security.

Obama visited the CDC headquarters for a briefing on the Ebola epidemic. Tate was assigned to accompany him on the elevator and said he sparked a conversation with Mr. President.

Little did he know his elevator ride would prompt a congressional hearing.

Tate later took photos of the president with his smartphone and was ordered to delete them by the Secret Service. Agents also interviewed the security guard after Obama left the building and the CDC pulled his badge on the spot, firing him a week later.