U-Haul driver who crashed into Lafayette Square charged with threatening to kill president

The driver of a U-Haul that crashed into Lafayette Square Monday evening has been identified as Sai Varshith Kandula, 19, of Chesterfield, Missouri, by the United States Park Police.

Kandula was arrested and charged with threatening to kill/kidnap/inflict harm on a president, vice president, or family member. He was also charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, destruction of federal property, and trespassing.

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The vehicle crashed into security barriers on the north side of the square at 16th Street just before 10 p.m., the Secret Service said. A witness told the TV news outlet that the driver tried to crash into the White House, and while law enforcement has not confirmed that, a spokesman for the Secret Service said a “preliminary investigation reveals the driver may have intentionally struck the security barriers at Lafayette Square.”

“There were no injuries to any Secret Service or White House personnel and the cause and the manner of the crash remain under investigation,” Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service, said in a statement.

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The charges against the driver were filed by the U.S. Park Police, and the truck was considered safe by the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, according to Guglielmi.

Investigators reportedly found a Nazi flag inside the U-Haul truck, per WUSA.