A Missouri man, Sai Varshith Kandula, pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of willful injury or depredation of property of the United States, according to a news release from the Justice Department. Kandula, a 20-year-old lawful permanent resident of the US, was born in Chandanagar, India, and held a green card at the time of the attempted attack.
Prosecutors revealed that Kandula flew from St. Louis to Washington, D.C., on May 22, 2023. Upon arrival at Dulles International Airport, he rented a U-Haul and drove to the White House. Just after 9:30 p.m. ET, Kandula crashed the rented vehicle into barriers protecting the property at the intersection of H Street NW and 16th Street NW. Following the crash, he exited the damaged vehicle and waved a banner displaying a Nazi swastika. US Park Police and Secret Service promptly arrested him.
The incident resulted in $4,322 in damage to the National Park Service and over $50,000 in damage to U-Haul International. Fortunately, no agency or White House personnel were injured during the attack, as confirmed by the Secret Service.
Prosecutors revealed that Kandula’s motive was to gain access to the White House and “seize political power,” intending to establish a dictatorship inspired by Nazi Germany. He had been planning the attack for weeks and admitted to investigators after his arrest that he would have arranged for President Joe Biden to be killed to achieve his objective.
Prior to renting the U-Haul, Kandula had unsuccessfully attempted to secure 25 armed guards and an armored convoy from a Virginia security company. He also made unsuccessful attempts to rent other large trucks, including a commercial tractor-trailer truck and a dump truck.
Kandula is scheduled to be sentenced on August 23, and the charge he pleaded guilty to carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
