Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Indian man pleads guilty to White House truck attack

Sai Varshith Kandula of St. Louis in Missouri on May 22 last year crashed a rented truck into the White House perimeter

Indian man pleads guilty to White House truck attack

A 20-year-old Indian national living in the US as a permanent resident has pleaded guilty to attacking the White House last year with a rented truck with the intent to replace the democratically elected government with a dictatorship fuelled by the ideology of Nazi Germany, according to a US attorney.

Sai Varshith Kandula of St. Louis in Missouri on May 22 last year crashed a rented truck into the White House perimeter as he attempted to gain access to the White House to seize political power, according to the plea agreement.


US district court judge Dabney L Friedrich on Monday (13) scheduled his sentencing for August 23.

US attorney Matthew Graves said Kandula intended to replace the democratically elected government with a dictatorship fuelled by the ideology of Nazi Germany and for himself to be put in charge of the US.

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 the government by intimidation or coercion, the Department of Justice said.

According to court documents, Kandula flew on a commercial flight from St. Louis to Washington DC in the afternoon of May 22, 2023, on a one-way airline ticket.

Kandula arrived at Dulles International Airport at about 5.20pm and rented a truck at 6.30pm.

He stopped for food and gas and then drove to Washington DC where he crashed into the barriers protecting the White House and President’s Park at 9.35pm at the intersection of H Street, Northwest, and 16th Street, Northwest.

Kandula drove onto the sidewalk, sending pedestrians running from the scene.

After striking the barriers, the truck backed up in reverse, then lurched forward, striking the metal barriers a second time. The second impact disabled the truck which began smoking from the engine compartment and leaking fluids.

Kandula exited the vehicle and went to the back of the truck. From a backpack, he removed a flag and a three-by-five foot red-and-white banner with a Nazi Swastika in the centre and brandished it.

US Park Police and the Secret Service officers arrested Kandula at the scene and took him into custody.

His actions caused $4,322 in damage to the National Park Service and over $50,000 in damage to U-Haul International.

This amount included costs for repairing the metal bollard barriers to their original condition and ensuring structural soundness, oil and chemical removal, spill cleanup, and disposal of fluids from the crashed U-Haul, and the cost of the destroyed U-Haul truck, federal prosecutors said.

“Kandula planned the attack for several weeks. Before renting the truck and crashing it on White House grounds, he made several attempts to gain access to vehicles or armed security guards. For example, on April 22, 2023, Kandula requested 25 armed guards and an armoured convoy from a security company located in Virginia,” the press release said.

“On May 4, 2023, Kandula attempted to contact several other companies in an attempt to rent a large commercial tractor-trailer truck, a dump truck, or another large truck. Kandula was unsuccessful in arranging for security guards or a tractor-trailer truck or dump truck. Kandula had attempted to arrange for the services of these security guards and the use of large vehicles to carry out his offence against the US government."

(PTI)

More For You

London Marathon

This year’s marathon will see a record 56,000 participants

Getty

London Marathon Ballot opens with record 840,000 applicants for 2025 race

The ballot for the 2026 TCS London Marathon has officially opened, just days ahead of this year’s race on Sunday, 23 April 2025.

This year’s event will mark the 45th edition of the London Marathon, which first launched in 1981. The race continues to break records, with a staggering 840,000 people entering the ballot for 2025, making it the most popular marathon worldwide.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

The prayer meet was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami

Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

Mahesh Liloriya

A PRAYER meet was held at the Gandhi Hall in the High Commission of India in London on Thursday (24) to pay respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ rang out at the event which was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK  mini heatwave

Sunny conditions will bring early summer warmth

Getty

UK to see mini heatwave as temperatures climb towards 24 °c

The UK is set for a period of warmer weather in the coming days, with temperatures expected to rise significantly across parts of the country. According to the Met Office, a spell of dry and sunny conditions will bring early summer warmth, although it will fall short of the threshold for an official heatwave.

Temperatures in south-eastern and central England could reach 23°c to 24°c by Tuesday, around 10C above the seasonal average for some areas. The Met Office described this as a “very warm spell” rather than a heatwave, though the contrast with recent cooler weather will be noticeable.

Keep ReadingShow less
indian-army-reuters

Indian security force personnel stand guard at the site of the attack on tourists in Baisaran near Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, April 24, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Indian and Pakistani troops exchange fire along Line of Control

INDIAN and Pakistani troops exchanged fire overnight along the Line of Control in Kashmir, officials from both sides said on Friday.

The exchange took place days after a deadly attack in the region and amid calls from the United Nations for both countries to show "maximum restraint".

Keep ReadingShow less
India declares state mourning for Pope Francis, Modi leads tributes

A sculpture by Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik in Puri, Odisha, on Monday (21)

India declares state mourning for Pope Francis, Modi leads tributes

INDIA began three days of state mourning on Tuesday (22) for the Pope, a rare honour for a foreign religious leader, as prime minister Narendra Modi joined other south Asian and world leaders in paying tributes following his death on Monday (21).

Pope Francis, the 88-year-old leader of 1.4 billion Catholics across the world, died of a stroke, causing a coma and “irreversible” heart failure, the Vatican said.

Keep ReadingShow less