HYDERABAD: Sai Varsis Kandula, a young man from Chandanagar in Hyderabad, has been sentenced to 96 months in prison in the US for attempting to attack the White House in Washington.
The 20-year-old from St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced by a federal district court to 96 months in prison for the May 22, 2023, attempted attack using a rented truck.
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His intention was to overthrow the democratically elected U.S. government and replace it with a dictatorship driven by Nazi ideology.
On January 16, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced the details of Kandura’s sentencing.
The decision was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Special Agent in Charge William McCool of the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Counterterrorism Division, and Jessica M. Announced by Secretary Taylor. U.S. Park Police, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela A. Smith.
Mr. Kandura pled guilty on May 13, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich, to charges of intentional injury or taking property belonging to the United States. Kandula is an Indian citizen born in Chandanagar, India, and was a legal permanent resident of the United States with a green card at the time of the incident.
Judge Friedrich sentenced Kandula to three years of supervised release in addition to the prison term.
According to court documents, Kandula flew from St. Louis, Missouri, to Washington, D.C., on May 22, 2023, on a one-way ticket. He arrived at Dulles International Airport around 5:20 p.m. and rented a truck at 6:30 p.m.
After stopping for food and gas, he headed toward Washington, D.C., and crashed into the fence protecting the White House and Presidents Park at the intersection of H Street NW and 16th Street NW at 9:35 p.m.
Kandula drove onto the sidewalk and the pedestrian fled. The truck hit a fence, then backed up and hit the fence again. The second collision disabled the truck, causing smoke and fluid to leak from the engine compartment.
After getting out of the car, Kandura pulled a 3-by-5-foot red and white flag with a Nazi swastika from his backpack and brandished it. U.S. Park Police and U.S. Secret Service personnel arrested Kandula at the scene and took him into custody.
According to the plea agreement, Kandura’s actions were an attempt to gain access to the White House and seize political power. His intention was to replace the democratically elected government with a dictatorship inspired by Nazi Germany, with himself as its leader. Kandura admitted to investigators that he was prepared to arrange for the assassination of US presidents if necessary to achieve his goals. His actions were calculated to influence or coerce government action.
Mr. Kandula’s actions cost the National Park Service $4,322, including the cost of repairing the metal barrier, ensuring its structural integrity, and cleaning up oil and other liquids spilled from the crashed truck. . The damaged property was owned by the National Park Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
An investigation revealed that Kandura had been planning the attack for several weeks. Before renting the truck, he made several attempts to obtain a vehicle and armed security. On April 22, 2023, a security company in Virginia requested 25 armed guards and an armored convoy. On May 4, 2023, he attempted to contact another company to rent a large commercial tractor trailer, dump truck, or similar vehicle. Despite his efforts, Kandula was unable to secure security personnel or large vehicles for his plans.
The incident was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, FBI Washington Field Office, U.S. Park Police, and MPD. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Schneider and Assistant U.S. Attorney Shehzad Akhtar, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
