A shocking incident from Washington DC came to light on Wednesday when an Indian-origin teenager rammed a truck into the White House gate and threatened to kill the US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
The boy has been identified as 19-year-old Sai Varshith Kandula, who was arrested by US Park police. The truck crashed into the security barriers on the north side of Lafayette Park shortly before 10 pm on Monday.
Kandula allegedly rented a U-Haul truck which he used to crash into the White House barrier. He allegedly told authorities that he wanted to get inside the mansion to "seize power" and "kill" US President Joe Biden.
Police cordon off nearby areas, hotels
The crash was a good distance from the White House gates, but the incident prompted road and sidewalk closures, and the nearby Hay-Adams hotel had to be evacuated. No one was injured in the crash.
Kandula, of Chesterfield, Missouri, rented the truck on Monday night immediately after flying from St Louis to Dulles International Airport on a one-way ticket, a Secret Service agent said in a statement of facts filed in federal district court in Washington DC, NBC News reported.
He drove the vehicle onto a sidewalk outside the White House and into a metal barrier just north of the White House, according to the document.
Kandula put the truck in reverse and crashed into the barrier a second time before United States Park Police officers took him into custody, according to the document.
Accused planned the attack for 6 months
Kandula told authorities he had been planning the attack for six months and detailed the plans in a "green book," the document says.
He "stated his goal was to 'get into the White House, seize power, and be put in charge of the nation,'" the document states.
'Kill the President'
"When agents asked how he would seize power, Kandula stated he would 'kill the President if that's what I have to do and would hurt anyone that would stand in my way.'" The document was included with a criminal complaint charging Kandula with depredation of property of the United States over USD 1,000, the NBC News report said.
Accused carried Nazi flag in backpack
When Secret Service agents asked Kandula about a flag with a Hakenkreuz symbol he removed from a backpack, he allegedly said he'd bought it online because Nazis “have a great history,” according to the court document.
He allegedly said he "admires their 'authoritarian nature, Eugenics, and their one world order,'" according to the document. Kandula identified Hitler as a "strong leader" he admires, the report said.
FBI search accused's house in Chesterfield
In the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield, where Kandula lives, FBI agents were seen entering and leaving his home Tuesday and acquaintances struggled to link the alleged attack with the “chill” teen they know.
Police in Chesterfield have no records of any interaction with Kandula or calls for service to the family home, Capt Daniel Dunn, Commander for the City of Chesterfield's Bureau of Criminal Investigations, said.
Dunn said that federal agents are in charge of the investigation.
(With PTI inputs)
