U-Haul driver charged with threatening to kill president after crashing truck into security barriers near White House

U-Haul driver, who crashed a truck into security barriers in Lafayette Square near the White House Monday night, was arrested and charged with an array of charges including threatening to kill or harm a president, vice president, or family member, according to officials.

The suspect, whose name has not been released, reportedly made a number of threatening statements against the White House at the scene but was quickly detained. The incident left no one injured. Authorities recovered a Nazi flag at the scene of the incident. No weapons or explosives were found in the truck, officials said. “I don’t think there’s any place for a Nazi flag or the statements that he made,” the official added.

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The incident happened just before 10 p.m. ET,  just a few hundred feet from the White House. The exact whereabouts of President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris at the time of the incident are not known. It was, however, reported that the POTUS was in a meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Monday night at the White House to discuss the debt limit.

The male suspect also faces charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of a vehicle, trespassing, and destruction of federal property, Twiname said.

The Secret Service said the incident may have been intentional. “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.

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An image taken by Reuters showed a Nazi-style red flag emblazoned with a swastika on the floor next to the van. According to a preliminary investigation, the driver may have intentionally struck the barrier. A black backpack and a roll of duct tape were also found inside the truck.

The back of the truck was initially searched using a robot and it appeared to be empty.