Vulgar remark about White House made after shooting near Washington Monument, prosecutor says

Journalists report as U.S. Secret Service and local police remain after a person was shot by law enforcement near the Washington Monument in Washington, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey Jr.)

WASHINGTON -- A man accused of firing a gun at law enforcement officers near the Washington Monument this week was walking along the path of U.S. Vice-President JD Vance’s motorcade before the shooting and made a vulgar remark about the White House after the confrontation, according to a court filing Wednesday.

Michael Marx, 45, of Midland, Texas, was shot multiple times during Monday’s confrontation and was in the back of an ambulance on his way to a hospital when he said, “‘F**k the White House’ and “Kill me, kill me, kill me,”’ a Secret Service agent said in an affidavit.

The sworn statement does not specify whether investigators believe Marx had a particular target.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement that her office “will pursue the most serious charges available against anyone who brings gun violence to our streets, particularly when that violence unfolds steps from the seat of our government and the path of the Vice-President of the United States.”

Marx was walking along the path of Vance’s motorcade when officers spotted him near the intersection of 15th Street and Independence Avenue. The officers were responding to a Secret Service agent’s report that Marx was seen near with White House complex with a firearm concealed on the right side of his body, the affidavit says.

Marx pulled a firearm from his waistband as he ran away from Secret Service officers and fired at one of them, but a bystander behind the officer was shot in the leg, the affidavit says. Officers returned fire and struck Marx in his abdomen, a hand and his left arm, according to the filing. It says Marx spit at officers as they provided him with aid after the shooting.

The teenage bystander was not seriously injured and has been released from a hospital, ABC News reported. ABC was first to report what the suspect allegedly said after the shooting.

Marx was charged in a complaint with assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon, discharging a firearm during a violent crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

The shooting came just over a week after a California man tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner while armed with guns and knives. Cole Tomas Allen has been charged in that incident with attempting to assassinate the president and firing a gun at a Secret Service officer.

Around the time of Monday’s shooting, U.S. President Donald Trump was holding a small business event at the White House, which was briefly locked down as authorities investigated.

Online court records did not immediately list the name of a lawyer representing Marx.

Marx has used aliases, including Michael Patrick and Michael Zavici, according to the affidavit. It says Marx had a 2011 drug trafficking conviction in Florida that made it illegal for him to possess a firearm.

By Michael Kunzelman, The Associated Press