Feds charge Texas man who allegedly shot at Secret Service agent on National Mall

Washington — The Justice Department on Wednesday charged a Texas man 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 took place on May 4 near the Washington Monument, as the motorcade for Vice President JD Vance was departing the White House and passing through the area of 15th Street and Independence Avenue SW, which is heavily populated 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.

An affidavit filed by a Secret Service agent in federal court lays out the alleged details of the incident. The filing says 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 a group of other pedestrians at an intersection, according to the affidavit. Still images from surveillance cameras included in the filing show three marked Secret Service vehicles pulling up to a crosswalk:

The affidavit says that as Secret Service officers approached Marx, he allegedly "reached into his waistband and produced a firearm while running across the street." Once he crossed the street, the affidavit says, Marx "turned and fired his firearm in the direction" of a Secret Service officer while a civilian witness was behind the officer. That shot hit the unnamed witness in the leg, according to the affidavit.

The Secret Service officer returned fire, charging documents allege, hitting Marx in the "hand, left arm, and upper abdomen."

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

The charging document says Marx did not have a license to carry a gun in D.C. and was previously convicted of drug trafficking in Florida in 2011.

There was not a future court appearance listed on public court dockets as of Wednesday afternoon.