Indian-origin teen accused of ramming U-Haul truck into barriers near White House praised Hitler
wanted to kill US President Joe Biden
Washington, May 24: A 19-year-old Indian-origin man accused of deliberately crashing a rented truck into a White House barrier has praised Adolf Hitler to investigators and said that he aimed to "kill" President Joe Biden if necessary to seize power, media reports said on Wednesday.
Sai Varshith Kandula, of Chesterfield, Missouri, rented the U-Haul truck on Monday night immediately after flying from St. Louis to Dulles International Airport on a one-way ticket, a Secret Service agent said in a statement of facts filed in federal district court in Washington D.C., NBC News reported.
US Park Police arrested Kandula after he crashed the rented truck into the security barriers on the north side of Lafayette Park shortly before 10 pm on Monday, sending multiple pedestrians running from the scene.
The crash was a good distance from the White House gates, but the incident prompted road and sidewalk closures, and the nearby Hay-Adams hotel had to be evacuated. No one was injured in the crash.
He drove the vehicle onto a sidewalk outside the White House and into a metal barrier just north of the White House, according to the document.
Kandula put the truck in reverse and crashed into the barrier a second time before United States Park Police officers took him into custody, according to the document.
Kandula told authorities he had been planning the attack for six months and detailed the plans in a "green book," the document says.
He "stated his goal was to 'get into the White House, seize power, and be put in charge of the nation,'" the document states.
"When agents asked how he would seize power, Kandula stated he would 'kill the President if that's what I have to do and would hurt anyone that would stand in my way.'"
The document was included with a criminal complaint charging Kandula with depredation of property of the United States over USD 1,000, the NBC News report said.
Kandula, in handcuffs and wearing a t-shirt and shorts, appeared in DC Superior Court Tuesday afternoon, US Park Police told CNN, and was held in custody without bail.
When Secret Service agents asked Kandula about a flag with a swastika he removed from a backpack, he allegedly said he'd bought it online because Nazis "have a great history," according to the court document.
He allegedly said he "admires their 'authoritarian nature, Eugenics, and their one world order,'" according to the document. Kandula identified Hitler as a "strong leader" he admires, the report said.
In the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield, where Kandula lives, FBI agents were seen entering and leaving his home Tuesday and acquaintances struggled to link the alleged attack with the "chill" teen they know.
Police in Chesterfield have no records of any interaction with Kandula or calls for service to the family home, Capt Daniel Dunn, Commander for the City of Chesterfield's Bureau of Criminal Investigations, said.
Dunn said that federal agents are in charge of the investigation.
Errion Barfield, who was on the Marquette High School track team with Kandula, remembered him as quiet and unassuming.
"He was nice and chill," Barfield said in a Facebook message to NBC News. "Ain't ever expected him to do something like that."
Kandula was a member of the sizable South Asian population of Chesterfield, a middle-class suburb about 32 kilometres west of St. Louis.
Pranav Nagila, who was a year ahead of Kandula, said he couldn't make sense of his one-time schoolmate possibly having a Nazi flag in his possession.
"I didn't see him as off-putting or anything like that," said Nagila, who just finished his sophomore year at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "He just seemed like a chill person."
A friend of Kandula told the New York Post newspaper that he's worried about his state of mind.
The former classmate, who attended school with Kandula said, "I feel like something either has gone badly internally inside him or maybe between the family."
Kandula was "the quiet kid" who enjoyed tennis, according to Aniket Sharma.
"He was never open to talking. And anytime I tried, he, it was just only small talk never really anything deep. I always thought he was like a quiet, shy kid," Sharma said.
Sharma, now a Missouri college student, rejected the notion Kandula was a white supremacist or a neo-Nazi.
Sharma spent years living in the same Chesterfield apartment complex as Kandula and his family.
Speaking about those discussing his former friend on Twitter, Sharma said they had "never even met him."
In addition to the Nazi flag, investigators recovered duct tape, a backpack and a notebook filled with writing from inside the vehicle, FOX 5 DC reported.
Investigators are probing whether mental health played a role.
Security has been stepped up at the White House and other federal buildings in Washington DC following a string of incidents in recent years.
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Vijayendra slams Cong govt over alleged medicine shortage, irregularities in health dept
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra on Wednesday hit out at the Congress government over alleged medicine shortages, large-scale irregularities and disruption of services in the health department.
The situation had deteriorated to such an extent that doctors were forced to protest on the streets, he claimed.
Addressing a press conference here, he said the Siddaramaiah-led government lacked the will to resolve pressing public issues and accused it of indulging in "blame politics" instead of governance.
"Due to the irresponsibility of this Congress government, the health department itself is in the ICU. There is a severe shortage of medicines in government hospitals. The 108 ambulance services are facing severe problems. Doctors have been pushed to the streets to protest. The Congress government celebrates 1,000 days in power with achievement conventions, but it has failed to solve real problems," he said.
He criticised the state government for allegedly shutting down Jan Aushadhi centres located on government hospital premises, claiming that needy patients are suffering as they are not getting medicines.
"For the past two months, government doctors themselves have been advising poor patients to buy medicines from private pharmacies because medicines are unavailable in hospitals," he alleged.
Vijayendra further alleged that the state government has reportedly not cleared Rs 143 crore in dues to institutions providing CT scan and MRI services.
"As a result, needy patients in rural and urban areas are unable to access these services. Pregnant women are facing hardships. Doctors are forced to protest on the streets...This government claims to be one that delivers on its promises. But does it have even the slightest concern for how poor people are struggling in the healthcare sector," he alleged.
The BJP state president claimed that the Congress government under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and its deputy D K Shivakumar is not pro-poor; instead, it is a government that supports middlemen.
"Who is responsible for the medicine shortage in government hospitals and medical colleges? The state government and the concerned ministers are responsible. According to information available to me, under pressure from influential individuals, irregularities are taking place in medicine procurement. Instead of purchasing medicines through authorised central and state agencies, the government has moved to fragmented district- and taluk-level tenders," he claimed.
He further alleged that due to commission demands of 15-20 per cent, many companies and public enterprises are not participating in tenders, worsening the system.
Vijayendra claimed that the Karnataka State Medical Supplies Corporation's procurement system has been sidelined, leading to an artificial shortage of medicines.
He also alleged that a private individual from Mangaluru is controlling the state's medicine procurement system, supplying medicines to most government hospitals.
"This has led to market prices being inflated. Medicines costing Rs 100 are reportedly being purchased for Rs 300. I will provide more documents and evidence in the coming days," he claimed.
He also alleged that staff associated with the 108 ambulance services have not been paid salaries for the past eight to nine months.
"The government must take responsibility and reform the system instead of protecting middlemen," he added.
