A Missouri man flew to Washington, rented a U-Haul truck and drove straight to the White House, where he crashed the truck into a security barrier and began waving around a Nazi flag in the culmination of a six-month plan to βseize powerβ from the government, authorities said Tuesday.
Sai Varshith Kandula, 19, removed the flag from a backpack shortly after smashing the box truck into the barrier near the north side of Lafayette Square on Monday around 10 p.m., according to charging documents. He was quickly arrested by a U.S. Park Police officer who rushed to the scene of the crash and saw him take out the flag.
Kandula later told Secret Service agents that he'd flown from St. Louis on a one-way ticket that night after months of planning. He wanted to βget to the White House, seize power, and be put in charge of the nation,β and he said he would βkill the president, if that's what I have to do,β charges state.
Kandula, who is from the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield, Missouri, said he bought the flag online because he admires the Nazis' βgreat historyβ as well as their βauthoritarian nature, eugenics, and their one world order.β
No one was injured in the crash. No explosives or weapons were found in the truck or on Kandula.
Kandula rented the U-Haul in Herndon, Virginia, and had a valid contract in his own name, the company said. People can rent a truck from U-Haul at age 18, and there were no red flags on his rental record that would have prevented the contract, according to U-Haul.
A witness, Chris Zaboji, said the driver smashed into the barrier at least twice. Zaboji, a 25-year-old pilot who lives in Washington, was finishing a run close by Lafayette Square when he heard the loud crash of the U-Haul truck hitting the barrier. He said he took out his phone and captured the moment the truck struck the barrier again before he heard sirens approaching.
βWhen the van backed up and rammed it again, I decided I wanted to get out of there,β he said.
Officers from the Secret Service and the Metropolitan Police Department searched the truck after the crash. Video posted by WUSA-TV shows a police officer at the scene picking up and inventorying several pieces of evidence from the truck, including a Nazi flag.
Kandula was arrested on multiple charges, and prosecutors charged him with damaging U.S. property.
Biden was briefed on the crash Tuesday morning by the Secret Service and Park Police, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. βHe's relieved that no one was injured last night,β she said.
The U.S. Secret Service monitors hundreds of people who have made threats to the president, but it's not clear whether Kandula was on their radar at all or if he had threatened the president before, which would trigger the Secret Service's involvement.
No attorney was listed for Kandula in court records, multiple telephone numbers listed under his surname in public records were out of service, and efforts by The Associated Press to reach relatives who could speak on his behalf on Tuesday were not immediately successful. People at a Missouri home listed as being associated with Kandula would not speak with an AP reporter.
Lafayette Square offers perhaps the best view of the White House available to the public, and Kandula sent multiple people running when he drove onto the sidewalk to reach the barrier.
The square has also 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 protests over policing following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, but it reopened in May 2021.
U-Haul is a moving truck, trailer and self-storage rental company based in Phoenix.
------
Associated Press writers Jim Salter in Chesterfield, Missouri, Colleen Long and Michael Balsamo in Washington and newsgathering producer Beatrice Dupuy in New York contributed to this report.
Both the Liberals and Conservatives are claiming a win after the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released an updated report on the economic impacts of the federal carbon tax on Canadian households.
TD Bank will pay US$3 billion to settle charges that it failed to properly monitor money laundering by drug cartels, regulators announced Thursday.
Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm Wednesday night, causing widespread destruction and immobilizing critical infrastructure. The extent of the damage is not yet known.
Hurricane Milton ripped through Florida Wednesday evening, leaving a trail of destruction, flooding and power outages.
Several models of Fisher-Price infant swings have been recalled in Canada after the company received reports of fatalities link to affected products.
The hosts of ABC's 'The View' clapped back at Donald Trump on Thursday, a day after the Republican nominee for president insulted co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Whoopi Goldberg.
Police north of Toronto have released video of what theyβre describing as a violent, targeted robbery in Thornhill, where suspects boxed in the victimβs car and made off with a suitcase filled with cash.
Florida saw a record number of tornado warnings in a single day Wednesday. An expert says this phenomenon is not unheard of.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says that while his party backed a Bloc Quebecois motion seeking money to boost seniors' benefits, he thinks there are 'other ways' to address affordability for older Canadians.
Police north of Toronto have released video of what theyβre describing as a violent, targeted robbery in Thornhill, where suspects boxed in the victimβs car and made off with a suitcase filled with cash.
Several models of Fisher-Price infant swings have been recalled in Canada after the company received reports of fatalities link to affected products.
One of the B.C. Conservative candidates running in the province's second-largest city has apologized for "completely unacceptable" comments he made about Muslims and Palestinians.
A Halifax-area couple has been ordered to pay nearly $61,000 in damages and $4,000 in court costs after their dog attacked and injured a homecare nurse at their residence in 2016.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he's in favour of mandatory, involuntary drug and psychiatric treatment for kids and prisoners who are found to be incapable of making decisions for themselves.
The superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division (WSD) has apologized over a message displayed during a professional development day on Wednesday.
Ethel Kennedy, the wife of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy who raised their 11 children after he was assassinated and remained dedicated to social causes and the familyβs legacy for decades thereafter, died on Thursday, her family said. She was 96.
A congressional candidate who said he was tricked by Democrats into running as a spoiler in a competitive House race in Minnesota suspended his campaign Thursday and endorsed his Republican rival.
A 59-year-old man was killed in a 'horrific' attack by a pack of dogs in a backyard next to a house where two dozen of the animals were kept, police said Thursday.
Donald Trump on Thursday again complained about the federal response to natural disasters that have damaged much of the Southeast as he seeks to gain a political advantage from the tropical weather.
Gunmen invaded another town north of Haitiβs capital on Thursday, shooting at people and setting homes on fire, just a week after a massacre killed at least 115 people in the countryβs central region. The number of casualties was not immediately known.
Prince William and the Princess of Wales on Thursday carried out their first joint public engagement since the end of Kate's chemotherapy by meeting the bereaved parents of victims of a stabbing rampage in the seaside town of Southport.
Both the Liberals and Conservatives are claiming a win after the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released an updated report on the economic impacts of the federal carbon tax on Canadian households.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says that while his party backed a Bloc Quebecois motion seeking money to boost seniors' benefits, he thinks there are 'other ways' to address affordability for older Canadians.
Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu and Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak are urging MPs across party lines to support legislation to ensure First Nations have clean drinking water in their communities.
Twin brothers who were born conjoined recently celebrated their first birthday after undergoing successful separation surgery.
For Scarlett Hicks, everyday life is challenging, as the two-year-old lives with a long list of medical conditions.
COVID-19 could be a powerful risk factor for heart attacks and strokes for as long as three years after an infection, a large new study suggests.
Expectations are high for the long-awaited unveiling of Tesla's robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night. Too high for some analysts and investors.
Florida saw a record number of tornado warnings in a single day Wednesday. An expert says this phenomenon is not unheard of.
A new 3D scan has revealed previously unseen details of the wreck of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackletonβs HMS Endurance, which was found in 2022 β more than a century after the ship sank.
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has abandoned his bid to appeal his 2022 sexual assault conviction before Canada's top court.
The Nobel Prize in literature was awarded Thursday to South Korean author Han Kang for what the Nobel committee called 'her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.'
A May 5 trial date was set in hip-hop mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking case Thursday, and a prosecutor claimed defence lawyers were trying to exclude a 'damning piece of evidence' by saying it was leaked by the government.
Air Canada pilots have given the green light to a tentative agreement with the airline, dashing fears of a future strike and overcoming concerns about entry-level pay and quality-of-life provisions.
TD Bank will pay US$3 billion to settle charges that it failed to properly monitor money laundering by drug cartels, regulators announced Thursday.
The World Trade Organization raised its outlook for global goods trade this year slightly, but cautioned Thursday that increasing geopolitical tensions and uncertainty over economy policy pose 'substantial' risks to its forecast.
As a parent, you want your child to spread their wings and fly, not crash down to reality when they first enter the job market.
A new poll suggests half of 18- to 50-year-olds in Canada who plan on having kids have delayed parenthood, with respondents citing reasons that include financial uncertainty, difficulties finding a partner and the cost of child care.
Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.
Former Toronto Raptors guard Danny Green has announced his retirement from the NBA.
Strong winds from Hurricane Milton caused extensive damage to the roof of St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field, home of the MLB's Tampa Bay Rays.
Rafael Nadal is retiring from professional tennis at age 38, he announced in a video message Thursday, after winning 22 Grand Slam titles β 14 at the French Open β during an unprecedented era he shared with rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Dozens of cars were pulled out of the Detroit River in west Windsor on Tuesday, causing many questions for Windsorites.
Hundreds of thousands of vehicles are being recalled in Canada due to a steering-related issue that could increase a driver's risk of crash.
Mercedes-Benz has partnered up with the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) and the provincial government to launch a new βincubator programβ. One of the first three locations is Windsor, with the other two going to Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo.
Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.
Saskatchewanβs Jessica Campbell has made hockey history, becoming the first ever female assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Have you ever seen videos of hovercrafts online or on TV and thought, 'Wow, I wish I could ride one of those.' One Alberta man did, and then built his own.
A B.C. couple is getting desperate β and creative β in their search for their missing dog.
Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.
A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.
Bernie Hicks, known as the βBatman of Amherst,β always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.
Bubiβs Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.
Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.
The driver involved in the hit-and-run that killed 19-year-old Damien Seguin in Burnaby, B.C., three years ago has been given a conditional sentence.
Mounties on Vancouver Island say they made an unusual seizure during a recent drug trafficking investigation.
The Supreme Court judge said there were βa number of problemsβ with a petition brought forward by a man trying to stamp out the entire Roman Catholic Church.
Police north of Toronto have released video of what theyβre describing as a violent, targeted robbery in Thornhill, where suspects boxed in the victimβs car and made off with a suitcase filled with cash.
Three Toronto police officers have been injured in separate incidents involving alleged stolen vehicles in Etobicoke.
Mayor Olivia Chow is defending her handling of protests over the Israel-Hamas war that have rocked the city over the past year, a day after she faced criticism for missing a vigil to mark the anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack which sparked the war.
More than a month after the Alberta government announced it would be pulling funding for Calgary's Green Line project, Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen says progress has been made.
Calgary police are asking for the publicβs assistance to identify two suspects believed to be involved with a shooting that took place in downtown Calgary last week.
The Crown will be downgrading the murder charge for one of two men arrested after a deadly roadside shooting near Calgary in August.
Former Ottawa resident Angelina Armstrong-Mann says it was clear when Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm in Florida Wednesday nightβshe heard it.
The transit service conducted a fare compliance blitz between September 3 and 30, with 12 fare inspectors "active across the transit network, enforcing fare regulations," OC Transpo said.
The Ottawa Senators kick off the 2024-25 NHL season tonight at Canadian Tire Centre. CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at what you need to know about the Senators this season.
Police on the South Shore of Montreal arrested two people in their 20s for alleged prostitution offences involving a minor.
Donald (Donnie) Marshall, the last surviving member of the Montreal Canadiens dynasty that won five consecutive Stanley Cups from 1956-1960, has died. He was 92.
The City of Montreal's French-language committee wants a French-language office established to promote and increase the use of the language in the metropolis.
An Edmonton daycare has been shut down after failing to address concerns about unsupervised children, the province said Thursday.
A controversial casino has been approved for south Edmonton.
A teenager is in hospital after being hit while crossing the street in central Edmonton on Thursday.
Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm Wednesday night, among those assessing the damage in its aftermath is former CTV Atlantic employee and Maritimer Eric Bungay.
The aurora may be visible in some parts of the Maritimes Thursday night.
Two teenagers are facing charges in connection with a shooting in New Brunswick's Salisbury and Moncton areas that led to an emergency alert last month.
A woman is speaking out after an assault on a Winnipeg Transit bus sent her and her daughter to the hospital.
The superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division (WSD) has apologized over a message displayed during a professional development day on Wednesday.
A 16-year-old is facing over a dozen charges following an armed robbery in Reginaβs North Central neighbourhood.
Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe says he would get tough on those disrupting the public and will shut down nuisance properties if re-elected premier on Oct. 28.
At the final meeting of this iteration of Regina City Council, a plan for how to pay for a new indoor aquatic facility that would replace Lawson Aquatic Centre was approved.
Ontario Provincial Police have arrested a Waterloo man who they believe is linked to a group that has been scamming victims across Canada.
After decades of welcoming the public to their land, the Shantz Family Farm in Petersburg is in its final year of selling pumpkins to the public.
Itβs expected to be a busy weekend in Waterloo Region as Thanksgiving festivities get underway, which means some businesses, services and organizations may be closed or operating at a reduced schedule.
Emails obtained by ΒιΆΉΣ°ΚΣ show a Saskatoon private school embroiled in abuse allegations considered mayoral hopeful Gord Wyant a "friend," but he says he cut off contact when the allegations came to light.
The Saskatchewan RCMP is responding to a report of an armed carjacking in Red Pheasant First Nation.
Milton is shaping up to be a monster of a storm, expected to strike Florida as a Category 3 hurricane, just weeks after Hurricane Helene hit the region.
An Ontario man said he feels 'devastated' after learning his identity was stolen to take out two fraudulent loans under his name.
Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm Wednesday night, causing widespread destruction and immobilizing critical infrastructure. The extent of the damage is not yet known.
A 14-year-old student received non-life-threatening injuries Thursday afternoon in a collision with a vehicle in Chelmsford in Greater Sudbury.
A blaze which at its peak reached 20 feet in the air had St. Thomas firefighters busy on Thursday.
Today, volunteers at Owen Sound's soup kitchen are marking an unpleasant statistic. They will have served as meals for the needy to this point in 2024, as they did in the whole of 2023.
OPP and Middlesex fire have closed Ilderton Road West of Wonderland Road and east of Hyde Park Road.
Provincial police say seven people are facing charges after a massive grow operation bust outside Orillia, Ont., where over $2 million in cannabis plants were seized.
Police in Barrie are investigating a theft at a convenience store that they say turned violent on Wednesday afternoon.
Police are investigating a report of a foiled robbery at a Barrie business allegedly involving several suspects.
The removal of 13 vehicles and one trailer from the Detroit River in Sandwich Town is complete.
The Windsor police have made an arrest in connection to a break-in at a local Islamic high school. Two suspects remain at large.
Several models of Fisher-Price infant swings have been recalled in Canada after the company received reports of fatalities link to affected products.
Mounties on Vancouver Island say they made an unusual seizure during a recent drug trafficking investigation.
The federal government is spending $4.9 million to remove a load of heavy oil from a United States military ship that sank off the coast of British Columbia nearly 80 years ago but now poses "significant risk" of a major spill due to deterioration.
One of the B.C. Conservative candidates running in the province's second-largest city has apologized for "completely unacceptable" comments he made about Muslims and Palestinians.
Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.
A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.
Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.
A weapons complaint that led to the temporary lockdown of two Lethbridge schools Thursday turned out to be no threat, police said in a media release.
Thousands more Lethbridge residents will soon be without a family doctor.
Alberta's police watchdog says the Medicine Hat police officers who were involved in an in-custody death in August 2023 acted reasonably and with appropriate force in dealing with a suspect armed with a machete.
Sault Ste. Marie Police Service says there is a 'significant' presence in the 100 block of Chapple Avenue for an active crime scene Thursday.
An annual international mining conference is underway in Greater Sudbury, Ont., marking the first time the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Conference of Mining Regions and Cities has been held in North America.
Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.
A Conservative MP from Newfoundland and Labrador says some small towns in his rural riding are overrun with crime, but police say they haven't received reports to that effect.
As millions in federal funding flow into a Labrador group whose claims of Inuit identity have been rejected by Indigenous organizations across Canada, a national Inuit leader worries the Liberal government is putting the rights of Indigenous Peoples at risk.
He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at ΒιΆΉΣ°ΚΣ. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop.Β Read about us.
