Chicago Man Charged With Threatening To “Shoot Up” United States Secret Service Office

CHICAGO - The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois has charged a Chicago man with making a threat to "shoot up" an office of the United States Secret Service and "hunt" an agent.

On March 19, 2026, MICHAEL KOVCO sent an electronic message via the official White House website that stated, "I'm gonna hunt the secret service agent that comes to my door's family so 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," according to a criminal complaint unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The message was sent approximately two hours after a Secret Service agent and two Secret Service task force officers visited Kovco's residence in Chicago to inquire about a prior threat Kovco had sent on March 17, 2026, the complaint states. Kovco's prior message, which was also transmitted via the official White House website, threatened President Donald J. Trump and one of the President's sons, the complaint states. Kovco electronically signed that message as being from "Mr. I'm going to [expletive] kill your child Kovco," the complaint states.

The complaint charges Kovco, 29, with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. Kovco was arrested on April 3, 2026. A detention hearing is scheduled for April 10, 2026, in federal court in Chicago, at which time the government will be seeking Kovco's continued detention pending trial.

The complaint was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Dai Tran, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Chicago Field Office. Valuable assistance was provided by the Chicago Police Department. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nina Ruvinsky.

"As I have stated repeatedly during my first year as United States Attorney, it is never acceptable to threaten a law enforcement officer, political figure, or a member of their family," said U.S. Attorney Boutros. "Under my watch, political violence will be dealt with as the serious federal crime that it is. Working closely with our federal and state law enforcement partners, the Chicago U.S. Attorney's Office will find, arrest, and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law those responsible for criminally threatening the safety of our public officials and law enforcement officers."

"The U.S. Secret Service's top priority is safeguarding the President of the United States and all those we protect," said SAIC Tran. "We take any threats seriously and aggressively pursue them to ensure our protectees' safety. I commend our agents' work in bringing this defendant to justice. I want to thank our partners at the Chicago Police Department and the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Northern District of Illinois for their help in pursuing this case."

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The charge in the complaint is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.