Sai Varshith Kandula pleaded guilty Monday to crashing a U-Haul box truck into a White House barrier in Washington, D.C., on May 22, 2023. Kandula, a native of Chandanagar, India, but a U.S. permanent resident who lived in Chesterfield, Mo. In January 2022, he graduated from Marquette High School and the photo is from a yearbook. Photo by Marquette High School/UPI | License Photo
May 13 (UPI) — A 20-year-old Indian national with permanent U.S. residency pleaded guilty Monday to crashing a U-Haul truck into metal barriers protecting the White House nearly a year ago in his failed attempt to usurp control of the U.S. government and replace it with a Nazi dictatorship.
Sai Varshith Kandula of St. Louis, Miss., was arrested May 22 of last year after crashing the rented U-Haul truck into the metal security barricade outside Lafayette Park.
Court documents state he rammed the barrier twice, with the second time immobilizing the vehicle. Then, he exited the truck and brandished a flag emblazoned with the Nazi Swastika that he had stored in the truck’s cab. He was taken into custody by U.S. Park Police and Secret Service officers.
Kandula caused $4,322 in damage to the barrier and more than $50,000 to the U-Haul in the attack.
Though charged with an array of offenses, including threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict harm on the president, vice president or their family members, he pleaded guilty Monday to a charge of willful injury or depredation of property of the United States.
According to federal prosecutors, the attack was planned over several weeks.
In April, Kandula contacted a Virginia security company attempting to secure 25 armed guards and an armored convoy for the assault. Two weeks later, he contacted several companies to rent large commercial vehicles, such as a tractor-trailer truck or a dump truck.
Court documents state that on the day of the attack, Kandula, who was then 19 years of age, flew commercial from St. Louis to Washington, D.C., where he rented the U-Haul truck. After stopping for food and gas, he drove to the White House where he forded the sidewalk, scattering pedestrians, and crashed into the barrier at about 9:35 p.m.
Kandula admitted in the plea agreement that the attack was an attempt to gain access to the White House where he sought to seize power of the country.
“Kandula’s intent was to replace the democratically elected government with a dictatorship fueled by ideology of Nazi Germany and for himself to be put in charge of the United States,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
He admitted to investigators that he would have had President Joe Biden and others killed if necessary to achieve his goal.
He is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 23.
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