Feds charge 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. …