President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, May 23, 2025 (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta).
An Illinois man guaranteed he would assassinate President Donald Trump on the White House lawn with a "heavy caliber" anti-materiel sniper rifle, telling the CIA "I am plotting to kill the president … in an ambush," according to the Justice Department.
Michael Kovco, 29, of Chicago, allegedly sent messages to the official CIA and White House websites saying he wanted to take out Trump, U.S. Secret Service agents, and even the president's son, Barron Trump, in a series of deadly attacks.
"Please make a clear line of fire from the white house to marine one on the presidents next departure from the garden," Kovco wrote in one of the messages, which was sent to the CIA on Aug. 15, 2025, according to the DOJ's federal complaint. The weapon Kovco allegedly threatened to use — an anti-materiel rifle — is a large-caliber, long-range firearm designed to destroy military equipment.
On March 17, 2026, Kovco allegedly told the White House, "I'm going to take a serrated knife and saw Barron Trump's head off after I successfully stake out the president of the united states with a high caliber sniper rifle permanently aimed at the White House Lawn from a local vantage point."
Kovco added, "I have absolutely every intent of plotting and carrying out an active assassination attempt against the President of the United States of America. This is a serious threat," according to the complaint.
On March 19, Kovco referred to himself as an "admiral" and allegedly said, "I intend to purchase a high caliber assault rifle with a large magazine and assemble several improvised explosive devices within my home … and leave them in several key places around Washington DC until I get justice for my rape from the US government."
The DOJ says Kovco threatened to "hunt" any Secret Service agent that comes to his door. "He better not tell me any identifying information at all like first or last name or pet name or address or place of work because im going to buy a small concealable firearm and go shoot up his place of work immediately if he tells me anything," Kovco said in his March 19 messages to the White House, per the complaint.
The messages were allegedly sent just two hours after a federal agent and two Secret Service task force officers visited Kovco's residence in Chicago to inquire about the threats he made on March 17.
While threatening Barron Trump, Kovco allegedly said, "I'm literally gonna find out how Barron Trump walks around in NYC or DC or wherever the f— he is and run at him with a serrated bread knife and saw that motherf—ers head off."
Federal authorities linked Kovco to the threats after he included his personal contact information with the messages, including his phone number and email address.
Kovco was arrested on April 3 and charged with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, according to a DOJ press release. He faces up to five years in federal prison, if convicted.