DDN – A Missouri man who crashed a rented U-Haul into security barriers near the White House in 2023 was sentenced to eight years in jail on Thursday, according to court documents.
Sai Varshith Kandula drove the hired truck around Lafayette Square near the White House in late May 2023. Prosecutors say he then exited the vehicle and brought out a red-and-white flag with a Nazi insignia before the officer stepped in.
Prosecutors said that Kandula intended to “destroy” the US government.
“The goal was to launch an attack on the White House, knowing that the President would be assassinated in the process. “He wanted to end the democratic process in America and replace the government with a Nazi-style dictatorship,” government authorities stated, adding that Kandula “specifically praised Adolf Hitler.”
Aside from being sentenced to eight years in prison, District Judge Dabney Friedrich ordered Kandula to serve three years of supervised release and pay approximately $57,000 in reparations and a $100 special assessment.
Kandula’s defense attorney, Scott Rosenblum, stated that his client suffers from schizophrenia and was diagnosed as such by two independent medical doctors.
“Neither expert specified a date of beginning. But both believe the earliest signs appeared during Sai’s early to middle high school years,” Rosenblum stated. “Both also believe his illness led directly to his offense.”
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He prepared the attack for months. He took a commercial flight from St. Louis, Missouri, to Washington on May 22, the same day as the incident, which occurred about 9:35 p.m. local time, according to authorities. The National Park Service paid $4,322 in damages when the truck, which was rented in Virginia, was rammed.
Authorities at the time stated that no firearms or explosives were discovered with the suspect, and that there were no injuries.
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