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Man from Chesterfield accused of crashing U-Haul truck into security barrier at White House

U.S. Park Police took inventory of a U-Haul truck after it crashed near the White House. © Provided by KMOV St. Louis U.S. Park Police took inventory of a U-Haul truck after it crashed near the White House.

WASHINGTON (AP and KMOV) — Police have arrested a Chesterfield native who they believe intentionally crashed a U-Haul truck into a security barrier at a park across from the White House.

The box truck’s driver smashed into the barrier near the north side of Lafayette Square[1] on Monday at around 10 p.m., Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement. No one was injured.

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Officers from the Secret Service and the Metropolitan Police Department searched the truck after the crash. Video posted by WUSA-TV[3] shows a police officer at the scene picking up and taking an inventory of several pieces of evidence from the truck, including a Nazi flag.

Based on a preliminary investigation, investigators believe the driver “may have intentionally struck the security barriers at Lafayette Square,” Guglielmi said. Authorities offered no additional details about the possible motive and had not released the driver’s identity.

The U.S. Park Police said the man, later identified as Sai Kandula, 19, was arrested on multiple charges, including threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict harm on a president, vice president or member of their family; assault with a dangerous weapon; reckless driving; destruction of federal property; and trespassing.

Lafayette Square, which offers perhaps the best view of the White House available to the public, has long been one of the nation’s most prominent venues for demonstrations. The park was closed for nearly a year after federal authorities fenced off the area at the height of nationwide protests over policing following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, but it reopened in May 2021[4].

U-Haul is a moving truck, trailer and self-storage rental company based in Phoenix.

References

  1. ^ Lafayette Square (apnews.com)
  2. ^ Download the KMOV News app for breaking news alerts (www.kmov.com)
  3. ^ posted by WUSA-TV (www.wusa9.com)
  4. ^ reopened in May 2021 (apnews.com)