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(WASHINGTON) — Pete Marocco, the Trump administration official tasked with dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development, told State Department staff on Tuesday night that he is stepping away from his role at USAID and returning to his previous role at the State Department, according to an email obtained by ABC News.

“It’s been my honor to assist Secretary Rubio in his leadership of USAID through some difficult stages to pivot this enterprise away from its abuses of the past,” Marocco said in the email. “Now that USAID is under control, accountable and stable, I am going to return to my post as the Director of Foreign Assistance to bring value back to the American people.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio named Marocco USAID deputy administrator in early February, and Marocco — along with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency — led the widespread effort to dismantle the agency by laying off thousands of employees, revoking funding for more than 80% of its programs, and shedding its Washington, D.C., headquarters.

Marocco said in his email that he is leaving now that “USAID is under control, accountable, and stable” — however many of the administration’s moves are currently being challenged or stalled in the courts, with a judge on Tuesday ruling that the dismantling of USAID was unconstitutional.

A State Department official confirmed that Marocco would return to his role as the agency’s Director of Foreign Assistance, and that two political appointees would assume the responsibilities of the deputy administrator.

Those two individuals are Jeremy Lewin, who will serve as USAID COO and Deputy Administrator for Policy and Programs, and Ken Jackson, who will be USAID CFO and Deputy Administrator for Management and Resources, according to Marocco’s email.

Lewin, 28, has been working with DOGE at the State Department, helping in the effort to dismantle USAID, sources told ABC News. He graduated in 2022 from Harvard Law School, where he co-authored multiple op-eds with renowned liberal constitutional law expert Laurence Tribe.

He was later hired as an associate in the Los Angeles office of the law firm Munger, Towles & Olsen, according to a now-defunct profile on the firm’s website.

Lewin appears to have no apparent government experience, though his law firm bio claimed that he had “confidentially advised senior global policymakers — including the U.S. President and senior Congressional leaders, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zekelsnkyy, and senior members of the G7 and UN — on matters of international law and policy.”

Critics of the Trump administration say its efforts to nullify the agency will cripple American influence overseas and carry devastating effects for some of the most vulnerable populations in the world, which relied on U.S. funding for health care, food, and other basic needs.

In a statement shared by the State Department, Marocco said that “the crisis-level issues that had plagued USAID were far worse than we anticipated,” and that “It has been an honor and a privilege to help restore accountability and transparency at USAID.”

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Federal authorities responded to the CIA headquarters in Virginia on Wednesday after a man brandished what appeared to be a handgun outside the building, sources told ABC News.

At one point, the man pointed a gun at his head, and local police and security personnel were negotiating, according to the sources.

The man was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon after several hours in the “barricade incident,” police said.

“The barricade incident has been resolved,” Fairfax County police said. “The suspect surrendered to FCPD negotiators and is in custody.”

A CIA spokesperson said law enforcement responded to an “incident” outside the CIA headquarters, located in Fairfax County.

“Additional details will be made available as appropriate,” the spokesperson said.

The incident prompted a large police response, including from the FBI.

“Members of the FBI Washington Field Office’s National Capital Response Squad and other FBI resources have been deployed to assist our law enforcement partners in response to an incident outside CIA Headquarters,” the FBI Washington Field Office said in a statement earlier Wednesday.

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(NEW YORK) — Attorney General Pam Bondi called the recent spate of arson attacks and vandalism against Tesla vehicles “nothing short of domestic terrorism” and promised harsh punishments for perpetrators if they are caught.

The White House also weighed in on the recent attacks Wednesday, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt calling the vandalisms “despicable.”

“Democrats were big supporters of Tesla and of electric vehicles until Elon Musk decided to vote for Donald Trump. So we would like Democrats to also come out and condemn this heinous violence that we have seen,” Leavitt said.

The statements from Bondi and Leavitt came after the latest incident in which five Tesla vehicles were damaged when a fire was started at a Tesla Collision Center in Las Vegas on Tuesday morning. That was the latest in a wave of incidents aimed at the electric vehicle company, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

“This was a targeted attack against a Tesla facility,” said Dori Koren, assistant sheriff for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

Along with the burning vehicles, officials said the word “RESIST” was spray-painted across the doors of the facility and three rounds of shots were fired at the additional Teslas. The suspect approached the business wearing black clothing and is believed to have used Molotov cocktails and a firearm to conduct his attack, police said.

Officials received notice that an individual had “set several vehicles on fire in the parking lot and caused damage to the property.”

Police and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force are investigating this incident, which they believe was an isolated attack. Authorities are still searching for a suspect.

Two Tesla Cybertrucks also caught on fire at a dealership in Kansas City, Missouri, on Monday evening, according to the Kansas City Police Department.

Tesla vehicles, dealerships and charging stations have been vandalized, suffered arson and faced protests in recent weeks since the company’s CEO Elon Musk began his work at the White House spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

In the statement Tuesday, Bondi said, “The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism.” In some of the cases, she said the Justice Department is charging perpetrators with crimes that carry five-year mandatory minimum sentences.

“We will continue investigations that impose severe consequences on those involved in these attacks, including those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes,” she said in the statement.

In the Kansas incident, a police officer in the area spotted smoke coming from one Cybertruck at a Tesla dealership on State Line Road shortly before midnight. The officer attempted to put out the flames using a fire extinguisher, but the fire spread to a second Cybertruck parked next to the original one, police said.

The Kansas City Fire Department ordered the bomb and arson unit to assist on the scene, the fire department said. Officials were able to put out the flames and the vehicles were “covered with a fire blanket to prevent reignition,” the fire department said.

“The circumstances are under investigation but preliminarily the fire is being investigated for the potential of being an arson,” police said in a statement on Monday.

There have been no arrests made for this incident, police said. The FBI is assisting the Kansas City Police Department in this investigation.

This follows a spree of similar incidents that have occurred across the country in the last few weeks.

Last week, “more than a dozen” shots were fired at a Tesla dealership in Tigard, Oregon, according to Kelsey Anderson, the public information officer at the Tigard Police Department.

Additionally, three Teslas were vandalized in Dedham, Massachusetts on March 11, according to the Dedham Police Department. Officials said “words had been spray-painted” on two Tesla Cybertrucks, with all four tires of the trucks and a Tesla Model S being “reportedly damaged.”

Earlier this month, a Tesla charging station was targeted in South Carolina, where an individual spray-painted an expletive directed at President Trump along with “LONG LIVE UKRAINE” on the ground in red paint and threw homemade Molotov cocktails at the station, according to the North Charleston Police Department.

Federal ATF agents arrested 24-year-old Daniel Clarke-Pounder in that incident, charging him with arson of property in interstate commerce.

During a search of his apartment, agents said they found a purple composition notebook that contained a three-page handwritten statement which asserted anti-government beliefs and statements opposed to DOGE.

“The statement made mention of sending a message based on these beliefs and was signed with the initials ‘DC,'” court records said.

Protests against the company have also occurred at dealerships nationwide. Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs told ABC News the demonstrations and the company’s plummeting stocks — which have tumbled nearly 48% this year — can all “be tied to [Musk’s] time at DOGE.”

“It has been a distraction for the company and it’s been a problem for the brand,” Frerichs said.

In recent weeks, four top officers at the company have sold off $100 million in stock, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Musk, the owner of X, said on Monday that his companies “make great products that people love and I’ve never physically hurt anyone, so why the hate and violence against me?”

“Because I am a deadly threat to the woke mind parasite and the humans it controls,” Musk said on X.

Musk has also reposted reactions that criticized previous Tesla attacks, including one that said those responsible for the Las Vegas attack are “terrorists and should be treated accordingly.”

A spokesperson for Tesla did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

ABC News’ Jack Moore and Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.

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(WATERBURY, Conn.) — A crowdfunding effort has raised over $100,000 for a Connecticut man who was held captive for over 20 years in his home.

His stepmother was arrested last week for allegedly holding her “severely emaciated” stepson in captivity since he was 11 years old.

The now-32-year-old man suffered prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect and inhumane treatment, according to police. He had not received basic medical and dental care and an education.

The man is 5-foot-9 and weighed just 68 pounds when he was found, according to officials.

The crowdsourced effort, organized by Safe Haven of Greater Waterbury, will be used to pay for medical and dental care, counseling and therapy for physical and emotional recovery, housing and daily living expenses and support for legal fees, the nonprofit said.

Safe Haven of Greater Waterbury said it is in the process of setting up a trust for the man. The crowdfunding effort has gathered donations from over 300 people as of Wednesday morning.

The man was discovered on Feb. 17, when Waterbury Police Department officers, along with personnel from the Waterbury Fire Department, responded to a house fire.

The fire was quickly extinguished and two occupants were found inside the home at the time. The first person was identified as 56-year-old Kimberly Sullivan, the owner of the property who called authorities for help, and the second person was identified as a 32-year-old man who was later determined to be Sullivan’s stepson.

Sullivan was evacuated to safety following the fire but the male occupant, who had suffered smoke inhalation and exposure to the fire, had to be assisted from the home by Waterbury Fire Department personnel and was placed in the care of emergency medical services, police said.

Investigators quickly realized there was a room in the house that appeared to have exterior locks on the door and, as they began speaking to the male victim, he disclosed he had been held captive in the house for approximately 20 years.

The victim then told police he had started the fire, telling first responders, “I wanted my freedom,” officials said.

Sullivan’s lawyer defended his client and said it was the victim’s late father who was responsible.

“He was not locked in the room. She did not restrain him in any way. She provided food. She provided shelter. She is blown away by these allegations,” her lawyer, Ioannis Kaloidis, told New Haven ABC affiliate WTNH last week.

Kaloidis said the stepson’s late biological father “dictated how the boy would be raised.”

ABC News’ Jon Haworth contributed to this report.

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(NORMAN, Okla.) — Winds of up to 75 mph were fanning multiple fast-moving Oklahoma wildfires on Wednesday morning, prompting evacuation orders for towns in the path of the flames, officials said.

Firefighters are battling blazes in Logan, Pawnee, Beckham and Roger Mills counties, including one about seven miles northwest of Sweetwater, near the Oklahoma-Texas border, officials said.

Residents of Meridian were ordered to evacuate early Wednesday as a fire came within two miles of the Logan County town. Officials rescinded the order after several hours as a cold front developed and raised humidity in the area, officials said.

In Roger Mills County, residents of Durham and Dead Warrior Lake were also told to evacuate around 4 a.m. local time Wednesday, as a fire nearby was spreading rapidly, officials said.

The fires erupted amid red flag warnings for extreme fire danger that were issued by the National Weather Service.

“Firefighters and incident responders should anticipate extreme fire behavior, including wind-driven and torching fire,” the NWS office in Norman, Oklahoma, said in a social media post around 6 a.m.

There were no reports of injuries or structures damaged from the blazes.

The fires came on the heels of a 30,000 acre wildfire that erupted on Friday in Logan County and destroyed more than 100 homes. The Logan County fire was just 25% contained on Tuesday and officials suspect embers from the blaze caused the new fire near Meridian on Wednesday.

At one point over the weekend, there were 130 fires reported in 44 counties across Oklahoma that killed four people, destroyed more than 400 homes and burned a total of 170,000 acres, officials said.

The Oklahoma fires erupted amid severe weather across the South and Midwest, which included several deadly tornadoes and dust storms. At least 42 people were killed, including two young brothers in North Carolina when an uprooted tree fell on their mobile home.

Up to 26 million people were under red flag warnings on Wednesday morning from west Texas to Illinois. Dangerous fire conditions — including high winds, dry vegetation and low humidity — are also expected Wednesday in parts of West Virginia, eastern Ohio and eastern Kentucky.

Up to 75 million people were under high wind alerts on Wednesday in 20 states from Nebraska to Georgia.

Meanwhile, more than 3 million people were under a blizzard warning on Wednesday from Colorado to Minnesota, where blowing snow is expected to be so strong that visibility will be reduced to a quarter-mile or less, making travel on roadways hazardous. Snow accumulations could reach 2 to 10 inches across the area, with winds gusting over 70 mph.

A line of thunderstorms is expected to move through the upper Midwest on Wednesday, creating the risk of strong tornadoes. Cities with the greatest risk of seeing severe weather include Peoria and Springfield, Illinois. Severe weather is also expected to move into Chicago; Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, Indiana; and Louisville, Kentucky.

ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke and Ginger Zee contributed to this report.

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