A 20-year-old Indian American young man from St. Louis, Missouri has pleaded guilty to an attempted attack on the White House on May 22, 2023. The crime included driving a U-Haul truck into the fence surrounding the building.
Sai Varshith Kandula (20) is an Indian national who was born in Chandanagar, India. At the time of the incident, he was a lawful permanent resident of the US with a green card.
The incident took place last year on May (22) when he arrived at Dulles International Airport, rented a truck and drove to Washington DC and at 9:35 pm he crashed into the fence of the White House twice. Kandula also drove on the sidewalk, sending pedestrians running from the scene. He later exited the damaged vehicle and fled.
Kandula had stuck the Swastika flag representing Nazi Germany with the intent to replace the democratically elected government with a dictatorship fueled by the ideology of Nazi Germany and for himself to be put in charge of the United States. Kandula admitted to investigators that he would have arranged for the killing of the U.S. President and others if necessary to achieve his objective. His actions were calculated to influence or affect the conduct of the government by intimidation or coercion.
U.S. Park Police and the U.S. Secret Service officers arrested Kandula at the scene and took him into custody.He had planned the attack for several weeks, even before the U-haul truck plan, he had tried to gain access of vehicles or armed security guards.
Kandula was diagnosed with schizophrenia following his arrest, according to court documents. As a citizen of India, he faces deportation following his release from prison.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, the U.S. Park Police, and the MPD. US District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich scheduled sentencing for August 23, 2024
