SouthernWorldwide.com – The Justice Department has filed charges against a Texas man accused of firing a weapon towards a Secret Service agent and injuring a civilian on the National Mall.
Michael Marx, 45, from Midland, Texas, faces multiple charges. These include assaulting federal officers with a dangerous weapon, using and discharging a firearm during a violent crime, and being an unlawful firearm possessor due to a previous felony conviction.
The incident occurred on May 4 near the Washington Monument. This was as Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade was leaving the White House and passing through a busy tourist area at 15th Street and Independence Avenue SW.
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“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,” stated U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro in a press release.
An affidavit submitted by a Secret Service agent in federal court details the alleged events. The document states that a plainclothes agent observed Marx walking along the sidewalk, appearing to be concealing a firearm on his right side.
Uniformed officers were dispatched and encountered Marx with a group of pedestrians at an intersection. Surveillance footage included in the filing shows three marked Secret Service vehicles approaching a crosswalk.
According to the affidavit, as Secret Service officers approached Marx, he allegedly reached into his waistband, produced a firearm, and began running across the street. Once across, the affidavit claims, Marx turned and fired his weapon in the direction of a Secret Service officer. A civilian witness was positioned behind the officer at the time and was struck in the leg by the bullet.
Charging documents indicate that the Secret Service officer returned fire, hitting Marx in the hand, left arm, and upper abdomen.
While being transported to the hospital, the affidavit alleges that Marx made statements such as “F**k the White House” and “Kill me, kill me, kill me.”
The charging documents also state that Marx did not possess a license to carry a firearm in Washington D.C. Furthermore, he had a prior conviction for drug trafficking in Florida in 2011.
As of Wednesday afternoon, no future court appearance date was listed on public court dockets.
