Justice Department Indicts Texas Man in Washington Monument Shooting

The Department of Justice on May 29 filed an indictment against a Texas man who allegedly shot at Secret Service agents earlier this month.

Midland, Texas, resident Michael Marx, 45, is charged with one count of using a deadly weapon to assault a law enforcement officer and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

The first charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years; the second has a mandatory minimum of 10 years.

“The evidence shows Marx not only carried an illegal firearm into D.C., but he fired it at uniformed officers, wounding an innocent teenage bystander who was simply visiting the National Mall with his family on a spring afternoon,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement.

The alleged shooting took place just as Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade was departing the White House on May 4, around 3:40 p.m.

Secret Service agents observed the suspect near 15th Street and Madison Drive NW attempting to conceal a weapon on his right side.

After officers approached, Marx attempted to flee. He then opened fire on one member of law enforcement, but missed, striking a civilian bystander in the leg. Officers returned fire and Marx was hit in hand, the arm, and his upper abdomen.

According to the Justice Department, Marx—who uses the aliases Patrick Gary Michael and Michael Zavici—later made disparaging remarks about the White House while in the hospital. He also repeatedly asked law enforcement to kill him, the release alleges.

“When someone brings violence to a place that symbolizes the heart of our democracy and does so along the path of the Vice President’s motorcade, we will respond with the full weight of federal charges and pursue accountability at every step,” Pirro said.

The indictment comes after a recent escalation in violence directed at President Donald Trump and members of his administration.

In April, a man allegedly traveled across the country from Los Angeles to the nation’s capital as part of a plan to break into the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and harm as many members of the administration as possible.

On May 23, Secret Service agents shot and killed a man who opened fire on them near the White House.

The president told reporters on May 27 that the danger comes with the territory.

“It’s a sad part of life, it’s a dangerous business,” Trump said in response to a question from NTD, a sister outlet of The Epoch Times.

“When you are a consequential president, your life is in grave danger. I knew that.”