Texas Man Charged with Assaulting Secret Service Agent Near Vance Motorcade

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department charged a Texas man Wednesday with assault and weapons offenses after he allegedly fired his gun toward a Secret Service agent and wounded a bystander on the National Mall.

Michael Marx, 45, of Midland, Texas, faces charges of assaulting federal officers with a dangerous weapon, using and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

The incident occurred May 4 near the Washington Monument as Vice President JD Vance's motorcade departed the White House and passed through the area of 15th Street and Independence Avenue SW, a spot crowded with tourists.

"We will prove this defendant carried an illegal firearm into the heart of Washington, D.C., opened fire at Secret Service officers near a crowded intersection, and shot an innocent bystander who was simply crossing the street with his family," U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement.

A Secret Service agent's affidavit filed in federal court details the alleged events. It states a plainclothes agent spotted Marx walking along the sidewalk, appearing to conceal a firearm on the right side of his body.

Uniformed officers responded and encountered Marx among other pedestrians at an intersection, the affidavit says. Still images from surveillance cameras in the filing show three marked Secret Service vehicles pulling up to a crosswalk.

As Secret Service officers approached, Marx allegedly reached into his waistband, produced a firearm and ran across the street. Once across, he turned and fired in the direction of a Secret Service officer, with a civilian witness behind the officer. That shot struck the unnamed witness in the leg, according to the affidavit.

The Secret Service officer returned fire and hit Marx in the hand, left arm and upper abdomen, charging documents state.

While Marx was transported to the hospital, he made statements to the effect of "F**k the White House" and "Kill me, kill me, kill me," the affidavit alleges.

The charging document notes Marx lacked a license to carry a gun in D.C. and was convicted of drug trafficking in Florida in 2011.

No future court appearance was listed on public dockets as of Wednesday afternoon.