Jan. 17 (UPI) — The 20-year-old man who crashed a rented truck into barriers protecting the White House in 2023 as part of an attempt to overthrow the U.S. government and replace it with a Nazi dictatorship has been sentenced to eight years in prison, federal prosecutors said.
Sai Varshith Kandula, an Indian national and lawful permanent resident residing in St. Louis, Mo., was sentenced to 96 months in a U.S. court on Thursday, the Justice Department said in a statement, adding that he also is to serve three years of supervised release.
Though initially charged with multiple offenses, Kandula pleaded guilty in May to a single count of willful injury or depredation of property of the United States.
Kandula was arrested on May 22, 2023, after driving a rented box truck into the security barricades on the north side of Lafayette Square at 16th Street at around 9:35 p.m.
No one was injured in the attack, which caused $4,322 worth of damage.
According to court documents, Kandula flew from St. Louis to Dulles International Airport in Virginia the afternoon of the attack, renting the box truck at 6:30 p.m.
After stopping for gas and food, he drove to Washington, D.C., where he crashed into the White House’s protective barriers, reversed the vehicle and then crashed into the metal barrier a second time, which disabled the truck.
“Kandula next exited the vehicle and went to the back of the truck. From a backpack, he removed a flag, a 3-by-5 foot red-and-white banner with a Nazi Swastika in the center, and brandished it. U.S. Park Police and the U.S. Secret Service officers arrested Kandula at the scene and took him into custody,” the Justice Department said.
In his plea agreement, Kandula admitted he crashed the truck in an effort to gain access to the White House to seize political power with intent to replace the United States’ democratic government with a Nazi dictatorship that he would lead.
According to the document, he told investigators that, if successful, he would have executed President Joe Biden and other officials if necessary to achieve his goal.
He also planned the attack for several weeks, according to federal prosecutors, who said he attempted to secure armed guards and an armored convoy from a security company to facilitate his attack. He also tried to secure a commercial tractor-trailer truck, a dump truck or other large vehicles, they said.