The alleged neo-Nazi accused of ramming a rented U-Haul truck into White House security barriers will be held in federal jail pending a detention hearing next week, according to reports.
Sai Varshith Kandula, 19, appeared in a Washington, DC, federal court Wednesday, where Magistrate Judge Robin M. Meriweather ordered he be jailed until a hearing next Tuesday, CBS News reported.
Kandula, from Missouri, slammed the box truck into barriers along Lafayette Square just steps from the White House late Monday, US Park Police officials said.
He had allegedly planned the attack for six months, with his goal to “get to the White House, seize power, and be put in charge of the nation,” records show.
Kandula was accused of threatening to “Kill the President If that’s what I have to do,” and praised Nazism and Hitler.
He was originally charged with threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict harm on a president, vice president or family member, as well as assault with a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, trespassing and destruction of federal property, US Park Police said.
His federal charges have since been downgraded to a single count of depredation of property of the United States in excess of $1,000.
Prosecutors told the court Kandula is not a US citizen, according to Fox News.
Kandula, a self-described unemployed data analyst, was taken into custody after ramming the barriers with his vehicle just before 10 p.m. Monday, officials said.
He struck the barriers once before reversing the box truck and launching forward again, ramming the structures a second time, according to a statement of facts released Tuesday.
He then allegedly hopped out of the driver’s seat and went to the back of the smoking truck.
“The officer watched as KANDULA removed a red and white flag with a Nazi Swastika in the center from a black backpack he was carrying,” the document states.
No one was injured in the crash and no explosives were found inside the vehicle.
Kandula later told federal agents he took a one-way flight from St. Louis to Washington, DC, and arrived around 8 p.m., court papers state. He then allegedly rented a U-Haul box truck and “drove directly to the White House.”
He allegedly said his goal was to “get to the White House, seize power, and be put in charge of the nation.”
When asked how, he responded he would “Kill the President if that’s what I have to do and would hurt anyone that would stand in my way,” according to court documents.
Despite being stopped by the security barrier, Kandula told investigators he was successful because he had hoped to send a message, court documents state.
“KANDULA stated a message was meant to be sent to all organizations like the Secret Service,” the document goes on. “KANDULA added, ‘either way, whether I got into the White House or not, my message was received.’”
He allegedly said he knew he would get arrested, but his “book” would get to “those who needed to see it.”
The book was a “green book” in which he had written “his plans to enter the White House, and what he would accomplish if he was in charge,” the filing states.
Kandula allegedly went on to praise Nazism for its “great history” and their “authoritarian nature, Eugenics, and their one world order.”
“When asked if he looks up to any leaders,” the document states, “KANDULA answered ‘Hitler, because he was a strong leader.’”
Aniket Sharma, who attended high school with Kandula, told The Post he worried about his former classmate’s state of mind in light of the allegations.
“I couldn’t believe it for the first 10 — five, 10 minutes … [I] never expected him to be doing something like this. I never thought a day like this would come.”
Federal agents descended upon Kandula’s Chesterfield home Tuesday, when investigators were seen entering with evidence bags and equipment, FOX 2 reported.
