Indian citizen Sai Varshit Kandula was sentenced to eight years in prison on Thursday for attempting to attack the White House with a truck in America. Sai (20) had attempted this attack on 22 May 2023.
The Justice Department said the purpose of the attack was to overthrow the democratically elected US government and replace it with a dictatorial regime inspired by Nazi ideology.
Kandula had pleaded guilty on May 13, 2024, to one count of willful damage or destruction of American property. Kandula is a lawful permanent resident of the US with a ‘Green Card’. In addition to the prison sentence, District Court Judge Dabney L. Frederick sentences Kandula to three years in prison.
According to court documents, the Indian national flew from St. Louis, Missouri to Washington D.C. on the afternoon of May 22, 2023. He took a commercial flight to Dulles International Airport at around 5:20 pm and arrived at Dulles International Airport, where he rented a truck at 6:30 pm.
After traveling to Washington, DC, the truck crashed into the barriers protecting the White House and President’s Park at the intersection of H Street, Northwest, and 16th Street, Northwest, at 9:35 p.m. He drove the truck onto the footpath, causing panic among the pedestrians.
After this Kandula came out of the truck and went towards the back. He took out a red and white flag with a Nazi swastika from his bag and waved it. U.S. Park Police and U.S. Secret Service officers arrested Kandula at the scene and took him into custody, the Justice Department said.