Jan 17, Kathmandu- Indian national Sasai Varshit Kandula was sentenced to 8 years in prison on Thursday for attempting to attack the US White House. Kandula planned to carry out the attack with a rented truck on May 22, 2023. He was convicted on May 13, 2024, of intentionally damaging American property.

During interrogation, he said he wanted to take control of the government and kill President Joe Biden. He had a six-month plan for this, he said. Kandula, who was born in Chandigarh, India, is a permanent resident of the United States and also holds a green card, Indian media reported.

According to the Department of Justice, the purpose of this attack was to overthrow the democratically elected government of the United States and establish a dictatorship inspired by Nazi ideology.

According to court documents, Kandula arrived in Washington from St. Louis on May 22, 2023. After landing at Dulles Airport at 5:20 p.m., he rented a truck at 6:30 p.m. He then had dinner and refueled the truck. Kandula then drove to Washington, D.C. At 9:34 p.m., he crashed his truck into the barrier protecting the White House and Presidential Park.

After the first hit, he backed the truck and tried again. On the second attempt, the truck broke down and smoke started coming out of the engine. US intelligence officials arrested Kundala at the scene.

According to police records, Kandula got out of the driver's seat and fell into the back of the truck after the engine failed. He then took out a bag containing a Nazi flag and began waving it.

Security at the White House has been beefed up following the attack. According to the New York Times, there have been several previous incidents of vehicles crashing into barricades near Capitol Hill. On January 6, 2021, nearly three months after the Capitol violence, two Capitol Police officers were hit by a car. One was killed and the other was injured.

In August 2023, a man crashed his car into a barricade near Capitol Hill. The car then caught fire. The suspect, Richard York, got out of the car and fired into the air. He then shot himself.