An Illinois resident has been accused of planning to assassinate former President Donald Trump on the White House lawn using a “heavy caliber” sniper rifle, as detailed in a report from the Justice Department. The individual, Michael Kovco, 29, from Chicago, reportedly informed the CIA of his intentions, declaring, “I am plotting to kill the president … in an ambush.”

According to allegations, Kovco sent multiple messages via the official CIA and White House websites, expressing his desire to eliminate Trump, Secret Service agents, and even Barron Trump, the president’s son, in a series of coordinated assaults.

In one message sent to the CIA on August 15, 2025, Kovco requested a “clear line of fire from the white house to marine one on the president’s next departure from the garden,” as per the DOJ’s federal complaint. The weapon in question, an anti-materiel rifle, is a powerful firearm typically used to disable military vehicles and equipment.

On March 17, 2026, Kovco allegedly sent a message to the White House, threatening to use a serrated knife on Barron Trump after staking out the president with a high-caliber sniper rifle aimed at the White House lawn from a strategic location.

He further stated in his message, “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,” as outlined in the complaint.

Two days later, on March 19, Kovco referred to himself as an “admiral” and reportedly claimed, “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.