U-Haul Truck Slams Into Security Barrier Outside White House - Suspect Identified
Police have arrested a Missouri man they believe intentionally crashed a U-Haul truck into a security barrier at a park across from the White House.
The box truck’s driver smashed into the barrier near the north side of Lafayette Square on Monday around 10 p.m., Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement.
A statement from the National Parks Service identified the suspect as 19-year-old Sai Varshith Kandula from Chesterfield, Missouri.
Breaking News: I have a very reliable tip that the driver of the U-haul that crashed into Lafayette Square near the White House gate is Sai Varshith Kandula. This pic is from his Missouri Driver’s License. pic.twitter.com/XNLmN9l39J
— Karol Markowicz (@karol) May 23, 2023
No one was injured in the crash.
Officers from the Secret Service and the Metropolitan Police Department searched the truck after the crash.
Video posted by WUSA-TV showed a police officer at the scene picking up and inventorying several pieces of evidence from the truck, including a Nazi flag.
NEW: Investigators pulled what appears to be a Nazi flag out of the U-Haul, but they haven’t provided any further details.
Here’s what we know: https://t.co/cXt81Ji2NA pic.twitter.com/jBsb1uPJA3
— Troy Pope (@troycpope) May 23, 2023
Based on a preliminary investigation, investigators said the driver “may have intentionally struck the security barriers at Lafayette Square,” Guglielmi said.
Authorities offered no additional details about the possible motive.
So an empty U-Haul but for a driver and Nazi flag hit a barrier near the White House and then the police spread the flag out on the ground for media photographs? Ok. https://t.co/0vnLKiuvvp
— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) May 23, 2023
The U.S. Park Police said the man was arrested on multiple charges, including threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict harm on a president, vice president or member of their family; assault with a dangerous weapon; reckless driving; destruction of federal property; and trespassing.
Lafayette Square, which offers perhaps the best view of the White House available to the public, has long been one of the nation’s most prominent venues for demonstrations.
The park was closed for nearly a year after federal authorities fenced off the area at the height of nationwide riots following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, but it reopened in May 2021.
U-Haul is a moving truck, trailer and self-storage rental company based in Phoenix.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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