Truck driver charged with threatening president after crash near White House Washington DC

Table Of Content

• ABC News
• Missouri man accused of deliberately crashing U-Haul truck into security barrier near White House
• The driver of a U-Haul ran from the truck and summersaulted over a fence before he was arrested.
• U-Haul Locations in Los Angeles, CA
• year-old arrested on multiple charges after crashing into barriers near the White House

He wanted to "get to the White House, seize power and be put in charge of the nation," according to charging documents. He also said he would "kill the president, if that's what I have to do," documents say. The Secret Service interviewed Kandula on Monday night, and the charge that he threatened to kill, kidnap or harm the president, vice president or a relative is related to his statements, a Secret Service spokesman told NBC News.

ABC News

Man arrested after U-Haul drives into barrier by White House - Los Angeles Times

Man arrested after U-Haul drives into barrier by White House.

Posted: Tue, 23 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Monday evening, Kandula rented a U-Haul truck, drove to the White House, crashed into a security barrier near the north side of Lafayette Square and waved around a Nazi flag that he pulled from a backpack, according to documents. On May 22, 2023, a U-Haul truck crashed into the north barriers of Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. The driver, Sai Varshith Kandula, is accused of having intended to seize power. It also showed investigators using a remote-controlled robot to pry open the truck's rear door. The U.S. Secret Service said that a 19-year-old man who rammed a U-Haul truck into the security gate outside the White House on Monday night has been charged with threatening the president.

Missouri man accused of deliberately crashing U-Haul truck into security barrier near White House

He was under evaluation after being taken into custody, the officers said, adding there was no ongoing threat. There were no injuries reported to any Secret Service or White House personnel, spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement. A U-Haul crashed into a barricade outside the White House Monday night and nearby hotels, including the Hay-Adams- have been evacuated. FOX 5's Shomari Stone reports from the scene of the crash with more details. Court documents revealed the suspect made comments very sympathetic to Nazis, allegedly calling Hitler a strong leader. He also claimed he wanted to get his "book" in front of the people who needed to see it.

The driver of a U-Haul ran from the truck and summersaulted over a fence before he was arrested.

After the crash, the truck was searched by bomb technicians and no explosives or incendiary devices were found, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told CNN. A witness, Chris Zaboji, said the driver smashed into the barrier at least twice. Zaboji, a 25-year-old pilot who lives in Washington, was finishing a run close by Lafayette Square when he heard the loud crash of the U-Haul truck hitting the barrier. He said he took out his phone and captured the moment the truck struck the barrier again before he heard sirens approaching. The man accused of crashing a box truck into barriers near the White House in a bid to overthrow the government planned to give a speech announcing the end of U.S. democracy, prosecutors said.

Superior Court, where the suspect did appear Tuesday and was held without bond. The FBI interviewed suspect Kandula on Tuesday and told law enforcement that he wanted to seize power, take over the government and kill the president, according to three law enforcement sources. Sources tell ABC News that authorities are looking at a mental health component to the investigation.

He had met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Monday night to discuss the debt limit. The government argued that the attack on federal grounds was planned out, including travel from the St. Louis area to Washington and the rental of the box truck. Kandula told Secret Service agents he planned to seize power and would kill President Joe Biden if necessary.

Officials have not yet released any identifying information about the driver. Lafayette Square itself was closed for nearly a year in 2020 and 2021, after authorities fenced off the area during protests over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The nearby Hay Adams Hotel was evacuated at the request of the Secret Service, the Washington Post reported, citing a hotel official, while the Secret Service said some roads and pedestrian walkways around the park were closed. The flag and plastic evidence bags were photographed laid out on the road after the crash. A Reuters witness said investigators found the flag, which apparently came from inside the truck. The news of the accusation about the Nazi flag and Kandula’s identity was met with skepticism among some quarters on social media.

White House U-Haul crash: 19-year-old charged 'may have intentionally' struck barriers - WJLA

White House U-Haul crash: 19-year-old charged 'may have intentionally' struck barriers.

Posted: Mon, 22 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

The CHP did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Times. The male driver was taken into custody in the area of Park Street and Bellflower Boulevard after a brief foot pursuit in which he summersaulted over a fence and appeared to have trouble keeping a shoe on. Shortly before 7 a.m., flames engulfed the right front of the U-Haul truck with heavy black smoke, forcing the driver to exit in Bellflower and abandon the burning U-Haul in the area of Beach Street and Bellflower Boulevard. She has previously written for outlets including PIX11 News, The New York Daily News, Inside Edition and DNAinfo. In 2019, the Secret Service said a driver tried to get into the White House complex by following an official vehicle through a gate. Traffic was impacted near 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, which is the eastern side of the White House complex near the Treasury Building, after the crash, authorities said.

Moments later, the driver of the U-Haul slammed into the Lafayette Square barriers, backed up, and slammed into them again, the court documents state. In 2021, the most recent information provided by the CHP, there were 12,513 police pursuits reported to the CHP by police agencies across the state, with 52 reported deaths. Thirty of the deaths were the drivers involved in the car chases, eight were passengers in the pursuit vehicles, and 14 deaths were people not involved in the car chases. The truck crashed on the northern side of Lafayette Square at around 10 p.m.

Kandula allegedly traveled from St. Louis to Dulles International Airport where he rented a U-Haul truck and drove to the White House, law enforcement sources told ABC News. After ramming the bollard, Kandula exited the vehicle and began waving a flag with what authorities say appeared to be a swastika on it, and that is when officers from the U.S. While authorities have not provided specific details on the alleged threat, the US Park Police said the man faces the charge of threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict harm on a President, vice president or family member. WASHINGTON - The 19-year-old suspect arrested for driving into a security barrier not far from the White House will appear in D.C.

Kandula rented the truck in Herndon, Virginia, and had a valid contract in his name, according to the company. The man, identified as Sai Varshith Kandula, told police he bought the flag because “Nazis have a great history” and he admired their “authoritarian nature, Eugenics, and their one world order,” according to the court document. He called Adolf Hitler “a strong leader” and said he would “hurt anyone that would stand in my way,” the court document says. According to the initial investigation, Kandula intentionally crashed into the bollards around Lafayette Park, Park Police said in a statement. President Joe Biden was in the White House when the truck crashed outside, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday.

Pursuits by law enforcement officers in Southern California have come under growing scrutiny in recent years for the danger they pose to unwitting bystanders. A driver not involved in the pursuit was killed in the collision, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Brian Humphrey, and three ambulances took patients to hospitals. Deputies saw at least four suspects get into a white Lexus and a black Porsche, authorities told KTTV Channel 11.

Roughly a quarter of the pursuits, 1,032, resulted in a collision that caused injuries or deaths. The Porsche exited the freeway during the pursuit, and deputies continued to chase the Lexus. Deputies called off their pursuit because of excessive speeds but followed from the air and notified the California Highway Patrol, which picked up the chase on the freeway, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

U.S. Park Police officers detained the driver and took him into custody. The driver, identified as Sai Varshith Kandula of Chesterfield, Mo., is facing several charges, including threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict harm on the president, vice president or a family member, the U.S. He also faces charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, trespassing, destruction of federal property and reckless operation of a vehicle. The truck crashed into security barriers on the north side of Lafayette Square at 16th Street just before 10 p.m., and officers detained the driver, the US Secret Service said. Kandula was charged with five counts, including assault with a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, trespassing and destruction of federal property, U.S. He was also charged with threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict harm on a president, vice president or their families, police said.

Lafayette Square has long been one of the nation’s most prominent venues for demonstration near the Executive Mansion. The park was closed for nearly a year after federal authorities fenced off the area at the height of nationwide protests over policing following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, but it reopened in May 2021. A "preliminary investigation reveals the driver may have intentionally struck" the barrier, he said. Investigators seized a red flag with a Nazi symbol, according to video and a law enforcement source. Kandula told agents he bought the flag because “Nazis have a great history,” charging documents say.

A U-Haul truck crashed into security barriers around Lafayette Square across the street from the White House Monday night, the Secret Service said. The driver of the truck had a Nazi flag with him when he was arrested, according to court documents. In May, a U-Haul truck driver crashed into security barriers around Lafayette Square across the street from the White House, officials said at the time. The 19-year-old driver had a Nazi flag with him when he was arrested, according to court documents. Police named the suspect as 19-year-old Sai Varshith Kandula from Chesterfield, Missouri, which is just to the west of St Louis. He was accused of threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict harm on the president, vice-president or a relative, said a statement from the US park police, who have jurisdiction of the area where the struck barriers are located.