Matthew M. Graves U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia
Sai Varshith Kandula, a 20-year-old from St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for attempting an attack on the White House using a rented truck. The incident occurred on May 22, 2023, with Kandula's aim being to overthrow the U.S. government and establish a dictatorship based on Nazi ideology.
The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves alongside other law enforcement officials including Special Agent in Charge William McCool of the U.S. Secret Service Washington Field Office and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani.
Kandula pleaded guilty on May 13, 2024, to willful injury or depredation of property of the United States before Judge Dabney L. Friedrich. Besides the prison term, he is also required to serve three years of supervised release.
Court documents reveal that Kandula traveled from St. Louis to Washington D.C., where he rented a truck and crashed it into barriers near the White House at approximately 9:35 p.m. The crash caused $4,322 in damages to National Park Service property.
After crashing the truck, Kandula exited the vehicle and displayed a flag with a Nazi Swastika before being arrested by law enforcement officers at the scene.
The plea agreement states that Kandula intended to seize political power and replace the government with a dictatorship inspired by Nazi Germany. He admitted that he would have arranged for violent actions if necessary to achieve his goals.
Investigations showed that Kandula had planned this attack for weeks and had made unsuccessful attempts to secure armed guards and larger vehicles for his plot.
The case was investigated by multiple agencies including the U.S. Secret Service and prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Schneider along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Shehzad Akhtar.
