A truck driver was detained by the Secret Service overnight after crashing into security barriers near the White House, and a Nazi flag was discovered inside the vehicle.
The incident occurred around Lafayette Square, where the driver of a rented U-Haul box truck crashed into the security barriers and repeatedly tried to ram through. The driver was arrested at the scene and slapped with charges that include trespassing, destruction of federal property, and threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict harm on the president, vice president, or a family member.
Bomb technicians were called to the area to check the truck for explosives. Authorities searched the vehicle and discovered a black backpack, a roll of duct tape, a notebook, and a nazi flag with a swastika.
“There were no injuries to any Secret Service or White House personnel, and the cause and manner of the crash remain under investigation,” Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Service chief of communications, said in a statement obtained by NBC. He added that “preliminary investigation reveals the driver may have intentionally struck the security barrier.”
The nearby Hay-Adams hotel was evacuated at the request of the Secret Service when the incident occurred, but people were allowed back in when the scene was deemed safe.
UPDATE: The U.S. Park Police identified the driver as 19-year-old Sai Varshith Kandula of Chesterfield, Missouri.
Watch above via CNN.
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