Max Eli Benjamin Viner, 35, of Brighton, Boston, Massachusetts, United States previously lived in Washington, D.C., USA. Aside from Boston, he has lived in other parts of Massachusetts including Rowley, Cambridge, Quincy, Essex and Peabody.

On April 18, 2020, Revere Police Department officers responded to a report of suspicious activity on Lee Burbank Highway in Revere, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA. They arrested Viner on a charge of making terroristic threats.

At around 6:00 p.m. on January 30, 2023, officers with the uniformed division of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) spotted Viner near Constitution Avenue and 15th Street in Northwest, Washington, D.C. While wanted for questioning by the agency, he was spotted near the corner of Third Street and Madison Drive in Northwest at around 6:20 p.m. by an officer with the bicycle response team of the U.S. Capitol Police.

Viner parked his Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle near the U.S. Capitol. USSS officers arrived on scene, found multiple knifes and a chain saw blade on him and a smoke grenade and a gas mask, shell casings and fake police equipment inside his vehicle.

The officers arrested Viner. Charges for impersonating a law enforcement officer and possession of a prohibited weapon within Washington, D.C. are pending.

Formed on July 5, 1865, the USSS is charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families and visiting heads of state or government. The federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Since September 17, 2022, Kimberly Cheatle, 52, has been the director of the USSS. She has been with the agency since 1995.