(Image source from: AP)

On Thursday, 20-year-old Indian citizen Sai Varshith Kandula was sentenced to eight years in prison for attempting to attack the White House in a rented truck on May 22, 2023. The goal of this attack was to overthrow the democratically elected government of America and replace it with a government. The Justice Department described it as a dictatorship supported by Nazi ideology. Mr. Kandula previously pleaded guilty on May 13, 2024 to charges of willful damage to and theft of United States property. He was born in Chandanagar, India and was a lawful permanent resident of the United States with a green card. In addition to the prison sentence, District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich ordered Kandula to serve three years of supervised release. According to court documents, on the afternoon of May 22, 2023, the Indian nationals boarded a commercial flight from St. Louis, Missouri, to Washington, D.C., via another airport and landed at Dulles International on a one-way ticket. I arrived at the airport around 12:30 p.m. Rented a truck at 5:20 pm at 6:30 pm.

He stopped for food and gas and headed toward Washington, D.C. and hit the fence guarding the White House and Presidential Park at the intersection of H Street NW and 16th Street NW at 9:35 p.m. Kandula drove his car onto the sidewalk, forcing pedestrians to leave the scene. After hitting the barrier, the truck reversed, then leaned forward and hit the metal barrier again. The second impact disabled the truck and the engine compartment began smoking and leaking fluids. Kandula then got out of the car and walked to the back of the truck. He pulled a national flag from his backpack, a 3-by-5-foot red and white flag with a Nazi swastika in the middle, and waved it. According to the Justice Department, Park Police and Secret Service agents arrested Kandula at the scene and took him into custody. According to the agreement, Kandula was attempting to break into the White House to seize political power when he drove his truck into the White House fence.

“Kandula's goal was to replace a democratically elected government with a dictatorship inspired by the ideology of Nazi Germany and put himself in charge of the United States. Gandula admitted to investigators that he organized the assassination of the President of the United States and others.""When necessary to achieve his goals, his actions were intended to influence government behavior through intimidation or coercion," the statement said. According to the Justice Department, his actions caused $4,322 in damages to the National Park Service. This amount also includes the cost of fixing the metal post. Stabilizing barriers and structures to their original condition, removing oil and chemicals, cleaning up spills, and removing liquid from a downed U-Haul. Federal prosecutors said Kandula rented the truck for several weeks before speeding to the White House and repeatedly tried to approach the vehicles or armed guards and an armored vehicle for a Virginia security company.

On May 4, 2023, Kandula attempted to contact several companies to rent a large commercial semi-trailer, dump truck, or other large truck. Neither the guards nor the tractor nor the dump truck examined Kandula. According to media reports, Kandula tried to avail the services of these bodyguards and use large vehicles to commit his crime against the US government.