President Biden is “relieved” that no one was hurt after a driver crashed a box truck late Monday into barriers at the entry to a park near the White House, the administration said Tuesday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Mr. Biden was present at the White House during the incident but was not briefed about it until Tuesday morning.
“He’s relieved that no one was injured last night and grateful to the agents and the law enforcement officer who responded so quickly,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.
U.S. Park Police said they arrested Sai Varshith Kandula, 19, of Chesterfield, Missouri, after the truck crashed into the security barriers on the north side of Lafayette Park at 16th Street NW shortly before 10 p.m.
Investigators searched the truck and found nothing dangerous inside, though they removed a Nazi flag.
Law enforcement sources told ABC News that Mr. Kandula had flown from St. Louis to Washington Dulles International Airport and rented the U-Haul truck. He told investigators he wanted to harm the president and seize power, the sources said, prompting a mental health evaluation as part of the investigation.
“Preliminary investigation reveals the driver may have intentionally struck the security barriers at Lafayette Square,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.
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.
Mr. Kandula has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, the threat to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm on a president, vice president, or family, destruction of federal property and trespassing, according to the Park Police.
The area is no stranger to security incidents.
Fencing was set up around the park during the height of racial justice protests after George Floyd’s death in May 2020. Former President Donald Trump famously walked across the park to a church that had been damaged during the protests after officers had cleared the area.
Through the years, police have caught numerous fence jumpers on the actual White House grounds. In 2014, a man managed to enter the White House through the North Portico doors before he was caught on the main floor.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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