A Maryland man who said he feared that President Trump’s reelection would lead to a “fascist takeover” is facing attempted murder charges, after he showed up at Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought’s Northern Virginia home, wearing a surgical mask and gloves, according to court documents and sources familiar with the matter.
Colin Demarco, 26, was arrested on Jan. 22 by Arlington County Police on several criminal charges, court records show. He is due to appear in court on Feb. 23.
During the course of the investigation, agents with the U.S. Marshals Service also discovered that Demarco had previously claimed to be writing a manifesto and that he had also drafted a series of notes detailing everything from a weapons stash to a “Body Disposal Guide.”
The court records show that Demarco is accused of plotting to murder a victim with the initials “R.V.” who, according to the criminal complaint, “has served as a presidential appointee.”
The complaint adds that the alleged victim was involved in the creation of Project 2025 — a project funded by the conservative Heritage Foundation- to produce a policy agenda for the next GOP administration. It called for a radical reshaping of the government in ways that consolidate power in the executive branch.
Sources familiar with the case separately confirmed to CBS News that Demarco’s alleged target was Vought.
A spokesperson for OMB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A person who answered the phone for Arlington’s public defender office said Demarco had retained counsel but declined to provide any further details.
Vought has generated intense controversy because of his lead role in mass firings of federal government employees during Mr. Trump’s second administration.
He is the architect of Schedule F — a regulatory plan that would reclassify thousands of workers to make it easier to remove them. In private speeches he made before Mr. Trump took office, Vought said he wanted to put career civil servants “in trauma,” ProPublica previously reported.
Vought’s controversial comments and actions have made him the subject of numerous violent threats since last year, court filings and sources say. He is now protected by a security detail from the U.S. Marshals Service, the federal law enforcement agency that led the investigation into Demarco and is part of the Justice Department.
He is one of several senior officials in the Trump administration who routinely receives credible threats. Several sources have told CBS News that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy also has government protection because of the threats he has received.
According to the criminal complaint, which was drafted by an Arlington County police officer, Demarco was captured on a Ring doorbell camera at the front door of Vought’s Arlington home on Aug. 10 wearing gloves, a backpack, sunglasses and a surgical mask.
He was also seen looking through Vought’s mailbox, and he approached a neighbor to ask if anyone was home. The neighbor told investigators that Demarco appeared to have a gun tucked under his shirt.
The neighbor initially identified the wrong suspect, but the U.S. Marshals were later able to identify Demarco as the person in the Ring video, according to the complaint, and they interviewed him at his Rockville home.
Demarco admitted traveling to Arlington and claimed to be looking for a job, the complaint said.
Eventually, he said that he went to Vought’s home because he wanted to confront him about Project 2025. He denied having a gun or any intent to harm anyone, however. He also told agents that the November 2024 election was “the lowest point in his life” and he feared “impending war and a fascist takeover,” the complaint says.
Demarco also spoke of his admiration for Luigi Mangione — the man who is charged with murdering former United Health CEO Brian Thompson.
When Marshals Service investigators obtained a search warrant for Demarco’s iCloud account, they found a series of notes discussing a stash of weapons, and another titled “Body Disposal Guide” that called for taking steps such as “always wear rubber gloves” and “make an airtight alibi.”
In the note about the weapons, titled “Dad’s Gun Stash,” he wrote about a .357 Magnum Colt revolver (FULLY PRE-LOADED!).”
Although the complaint says that law enforcement believed the listed firearms were at his residence, a partial search of Demarco’s room by the Marshals Service on Aug. 14 did not turn up any weapons. But the Marshals Service did see him crumple a piece of paper containing the word “tyranny.”
He also exchanged messages on the social media platform Discord in which he allegedly wrote about his desire to kill the president. One message highlighted in the complaint read: “The more Trump does shit like this, the more I wanna grab a gun and try to shoot him… I am at my wits’ end and this might be the final straw. I want to get a gun, head to DC and kill him.”
In his Discord messages, he also apparently talked about Vought, saying: “I found this guy’s address,” the complaint says.
He later seemed to allude to Mangione, asking, “Are you willing to put your livelihood on the line and seek out the guy’s home to Luigi him?”
The complaint said that Demarco has come to the attention of law enforcement’s radar in the past.
In November 2024, he was taken into custody in Maryland through a mental illness emergency petition, after he asked a police officer to run him over or shoot him.
“Demarco stated he wanted to die due to Trump being elected as president,” the complaint says. “Demarco advised that he had created a manifesto and that once it was completed he would kill people.”
It was not immediately clear why Demarco is facing state charges in Arlington County, rather than federal charges filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. The case was largely investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service, and Demarco crossed state lines from his home in Rockville to Vought’s home in Northern Virginia.
The Eastern District of Virginia obtained an indictment in mid-January against another man for leaving a threatening message for Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell. That indictment was obtained just days before Arlington County Police arrested Demarco.