Who is Sai Varshith Kandula, arrested for crashing truck near White House?

Sai Varshth Kandula is a 19-year-old Indian origin man, who the the police believe intentionally crashed the U-Haul truck into a security barrier at a park across the White House. A Nazi admirer, Kandula also waved around a Nazi flag on culmination of his six-mont plan to “seize power” from the government, the authorities said on Tuesday.

According to the charges, Kandula later told the Secret Service that he had flown from St. Louis on a one-way ticket the night of the incident. He wanted to “get to the White House, seize power, and be put in charge of the nation”. Kandula also said he would “kill the president” if that’s what he has to do.

Kandula bought the flag online because he admires the Nazis’ “great history” as well as their “authoritarian nature, eugenics, and their one world order.

No explosives or weapons were found in the truck or with Kandula, who had rented the U-Haul in Herndon, Virginia, He had a valid contract in his own name, the company said. People can rent a truck from U-Haul at age 18, and there were no red flags on his rental record that could have prevented the contract to be issued, according to U-Haul.

While the U.S. Secret Service monitors hundreds of people who have threatened the president, it’s not clear yet whether Kandula was on their radar at all or if he had threatened the president before. Kandula was arrested on multiple charges, and prosecutors charged him with damaging U.S. property.

— with inputs from AP