A Trump administration official who has publicly called for "retribution" against the president's political opponents is under formal investigation after a colleague accused him of assault and physical intimidation inside a State Department elevator.

Gavin Wax, who serves as chief of staff to the State Department's undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs — an office responsible for shaping the department's overseas messaging and strategic communications — faces an inquiry by the agency's Office of Special Investigations following a complaint filed by Ali Motamedi, a special assistant to the U.S. special envoy to Greenland. The special envoy position was established amid President Trump's expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, a territory of NATO ally Denmark. The Daily Mail first reported the story.

According to the complaint, Wax confronted Motamedi in early July inside a basement elevator at the Harry S. Truman Building — the State Department's Washington, D.C. headquarters. Motamedi alleges that Wax placed a hand on his chest and issued a threat before shoving him.

"If you ever talk s— about me or my family again, I will beat the f— out of you," Wax allegedly said, according to the complaint obtained by the Daily Mail.

"He then forcefully pushed me before turning around and reentering the elevator," Motamedi wrote.

Motamedi stated in his complaint that he was unaware what prompted the confrontation. "For the record, I do not know what Mr. Wax was referring to with respect to his allegation that I had spoken about him or his family," he wrote.

The State Department declined to address the specifics of the case. "We do not comment on internal personnel matters," a spokesperson told the Daily Mail. A source told the publication that the case could ultimately be referred to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.

Questions about potential video evidence remain unresolved. One source told the Daily Mail that the agency's security system should have captured the encounter, noting that the building has "multiple cameras, both inside and outside of any elevator." However, a separate source said there is no video or eyewitness evidence of physical violence.

"I would imagine that most people would be terminated for this sort of engagement," one source said, adding that the physical nature of the allegation places it beyond the scope of routine personnel discipline.

Sources within the investigating office told the Daily Mail that the case has progressed unusually slowly, with some expressing concern that Wax is politically protected due to his ties to the president. One source noted Wax "has the ear of Donald Trump," while another pushed back, saying, "A lot of people claim to have a relationship with Trump and don't."

This is not the first time Wax has been formally accused of threatening behavior by a fellow Trump appointee. Last October, Michael Bartels, a senior adviser at the Small Business Administration, signed a notarized affidavit alleging that Wax demanded he surrender a private Telegram chat log and threatened his professional standing upon refusal. Wax denied being the source of a related leak and faced no known consequences at the time.

Wax served six years as president of the New York Young Republican Club, which was the first Young Republican chapter to endorse Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. At the club's 2023 annual dinner, with Trump in attendance, Wax told supporters a reckoning was imminent. "Once President Trump is back in office, we won't be playing nice anymore. It will be a time for retribution," he said, according to Politico.

Trump personally praised Wax at the club's December 2023 gala. "Let me especially thank your president Gavin Wax," the president said, as reported by the Daily Mail.

Within the State Department, Wax has developed a fraught reputation. "I've heard he's a very abrasive and difficult personality," a department source told the Daily Mail.

Daily Mail coverage | Mother Jones profile of Wax