Washington: An Indian man hailing from Hyderabad has been sentenced to eight years in prison over an attempted attack on the White House while driving a rented truck in May 2023. Sai Varshith Kandula, 20, attempted to overthrow the democratically elected American government to establish a dictatorship based on Nazi ideology, according to the Department of Justice.
Kandula pleaded guilty on May 13, 2024, to a charge of willful injury or depredation of U.S. property. Born in Chandanagar, India, he was a lawful permanent resident of the United States with a green card.
In addition to a prison sentence, District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich ordered Kandula to serve three years of supervised release.
Planning of the attack
Court documents revealed that the Indian national flew on a commercial flight from St. Louis, Missouri, to Washington DC, on May 22, 2023. He travelled on a one-way ticket, connecting through another airport, and arrived at Dulles International Airport at approximately 5:20 pm (local time). He then rented a truck at 6:30 p.m.
Kandula stopped for food and fuel before driving to Washington, DC, where, at 9:35 pm, he crashed into barriers protecting the White House and the President’s Park at the intersection of H Street Northwest and 16th Street Northwest. He drove onto the sidewalk, forcing pedestrians to flee the area.
After the initial collision, Kandula reversed the truck and then accelerated forward, striking the metal barriers a second time. The second impact disabled the vehicle, causing smoke to billow from the engine compartment and fluids to leak.
Kandula then exited the truck and retrieved a backpack, from which he removed a three-by-five-foot red-and-white flag bearing a Nazi Swastika at its centre. He brandished the flag before US Park Police and US Secret Service officers arrested him at the scene and took him into custody, the Department of Justice reported.
According to the plea agreement, Kandula crashed the truck into the White House perimeter in an attempt to gain access to the White House and seize political power.
Fueled by Nazi ideology
“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. Kandula admitted to investigators that he would have arranged for the killing of the US President and others if necessary to achieve his objective. His actions were calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion,” it said.
Kandula had been planning the attack for several weeks. Before renting the truck and crashing it on the White House grounds, he made multiple attempts to acquire vehicles or armed security personnel. For instance, on April 22, 2023, Kandula contacted a security company in Virginia to request 25 armed guards and an armoured convoy, according to federal prosecutors.
