The Nazi obsessive who crashed a U-Haul into a White House security barrier as part of a demented plot to “attack and destroy” the government — even if it meant killing the president — has been sentenced to eight years in prison in a plea deal, court papers show.
Indian national Sai Varshith Kandula was just 19 when he drove the rented truck into metal bollards blocking the entry to Lafayette Square north of the White House in May 2023, nearly hitting two people.
Kandula wanted to “attack and destroy” the U.S. government and praised Adolf Hitler. USADCAfter crashing, Kandula pulled a red swastika-emblazoned flag out of his backpack — and confirmed once detained that he’d been trying to get into the White House, court papers show.
The then-teen from St. Louis, Missouri, wanted to “attack and destroy” the US government and acknowledged that the President would be killed in the process, prosecutors said in court papers, calling it a plan “as dangerous as they come.”
“He wanted to eliminate the democratic process in America and replace the government with a Nazi-style dictatorship,” they wrote.
While detained, he indicated he was trying to get into the White House, according to prosecutors.
A Secret Service officer who interviewed him later said Kandula told him he would “kill the President if that’s what I have to do” to achieve his goal.
Kandula planned the attack for weeks, purchased a one-way ticket to Washington D.C., and then rented the U-Haul truck in Herndon, Virginia, according to court records.
Sai Kandula was sentenced to 8 years in prison, three years of supervised release after his prison term, and to pay nearly $57,000 in restitution for the Nazi-inspired attack. Marquette High School/UPI/Shutterstock
Kandula’s conviction will likely lead to his deportation to India, according to his defense lawyer. USADCPolice body camera video captured the aftermath of the crash.
After his arrest, Kandula told investigators that he purchased the swastika flag because “Nazis have a great history.”
“He specifically praised Adolf Hitler. And it wasn’t just words — when his truck was disabled in the attack, the first thing he did was unfurl the flag of Nazi Germany,” prosecutors wrote.
Kandula was suffering from schizophrenia, according to his defense attorney Scott Rosenblum, and held delusional beliefs that “a reptilian race had installed a puppet regime to operate the U.S.”
Kandula was suffering from Schizophrenic delusions about “reptilians” who had taken over the U.S. government at the time of the attack. REUTERSHe had no weapons or assistance and believed his message had already been communicated to the “reptilians” when he stepped outside of the truck with the Nazi flag, his defense wrote.
Kandula reached a plea deal and pled guilty to one count of depredation of property of the United States in excess of $1,000 on May 13, 2024.
Federal prosecutors had sought the eight-year sentence based on his “stated aim to overthrow the democratically elected government of the United States, the aim to replace it with a dictatorship fueled by Nazi ideology, and his brazen attempt to gain access to the White House by crashing a large vehicle into the barriers.”
As well as granting that sentence, US District Judge Dabney Friedrich also sentenced Kandula to three years of supervised release after his prison term and ordered him to pay nearly $57,000 in restitution, according to court records.
Kandula, who was in the United States with a green card, will likely be deported to India due to his conviction, according to Rosenblum.
“He’s amenable to treatment, understands its necessity, and recognizes an illness produced the acts that led to his current circumstances,” Rosenblum wrote.
With Post wires.
with Post wires.
