On Monday night, a U-Haul truck crashed into the security barriers on the north side of Lafayette Square near the White House. Law enforcement found a Nazi flag in the truck, and officers curiously placed said flag carefully on the ground, making sure that the media would see it.
The driver initially faced charges related to threats against the president, vice president, or a family member, as well as assault using a dangerous weapon and trespassing, and boy, did the Nazi flag give social media pundits reason to label the driver as a white supremacist.
But then we found out the driver of the U-Haul was identified as Sai Varshith Kandula, and he certainly didn’t look like a white supremacist. And now, amid speculation that the incident was staged, the Department of Justice has downgraded the original charges. Kandula no longer faces charges of threatening the president, vice president, and so on, but now he only faces a single count of depredation of property of the United States.
Related: Suspicion Surrounds White House U-Haul Attack
Was the attack merely an accident? No, it wasn’t. In fact, witnesses say Kandula hit the barricade once before backing up the truck and ramming the barricade again. According to the New York Post, Kandula not only claims he planned the attack for months (I’m dubious of this) but also that his goal was to “get to the White House, seize power, and be put in charge of the nation.”
Kandula reportedly threatened to “Kill the President If that’s what I have to do” and also praised Nazism and Hitler.
It’s clear that Kandula has some mental health issues if he thought he could successfully capture the White House and assume the role of the nation’s leader. But the media, which tripped over itself to suggest that the driver was a right-wing “white supremacist” assault seems quite foolish in hindsight, don’t you think? He clearly had no discernible plan, despite his claim to the contrary. He’s crazy. End of story. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous. He clearly made threats that would merit the more serious charges he initially faced.
So why is the DOJ pretending like this was just a property damage incident? Is it because Kandula isn’t a U.S. citizen? Is it because he’s clearly crazy? Sadly, given the doubts raised about the incident before and the bizarre effort by law enforcement to make sure the Nazi flag was seen clearly by the media, it’s hard not to wonder if something nefarious is going on.
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