Indian-origin teen charged with threatening to kill Biden, Harris
Darpan News Desk IANS, 23 May, 2023 11:33 AM
ew York, May 23 (IANS) An Indian-origin teen has been charged with threatening to kill President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in order to "seize power", according to media reports quoting officials.
Sai Varshith Kandula, 19, allegedly rammed a rented truck into White House House barriers on Monday night.
ABC News said that according to police he was charged with "threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict harm on a President, Vice President or their families".
The network reported that three law enforcement sources confirmed that Kandula told law enforcement that "he wanted to seize power, take over the government and kill the president".
Officials were also looking into the "mental health component" of the attack, it added.
Kandula may have neo-Nazi sympathies, according to media reports.
WUSA9 TV station reported that a Nazi flag was removed from the vehicle.
NBC News said that the charges of threatening to kill, kidnap or harm the President, Vice President or a relative stemmed from his statements to the Secret Service, the agency that protects the President and other VIPs.
Secret Service Spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said that shortly before 10.00 p.m., officers "detained the driver of a box truck after the vehicle collided with security barriers on the north side of Lafayette Square at 16th Street".
NBC News reported that a robot was used to examine the truck for explosives but none were found.
There were no injuries to anyone in the incident and it was not known if Biden or Harris were at the White House at that time.
Biden had held talks with Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the White House on averting a financial crisis by raising the borrowing limits for the US government to avoid a default.
Kandula, who is from Chesterfield in Missouri state, flew to Washington and rested the truck at the airport.
The victim, Pinal Patel, was pronounced dead at the hospital. His wife and daughter, who were also shot in the incident, were said to be in stable condition. The police have issued a picture of the getaway car used by the killers - three masked men - and a driver. There is no word yet on their motivation and they had apparently not taken anything from the family.
District Judge Ronald Gwee gave the decision on Thursday after the domestic help, Susi Rimasari, left Singapore before the start of the trial. Noting that Susi was an unwilling witness, Judge Gwee said the situation had put the accused people at a disadvantage.
Karthik Balasubramanian, 44, who was vacationing in Japan with family, lost his wife Lin, 41, and their daughter Aahana in the fatal accident that occured on January 10. He returned to Singapore on Wednesday along with his three year-old daughter who survived the crash.
Indian-origin British Sikh Army officer Preet Chandi, who made history by trekking to the South Pole, has broken the world record for the longest, solo, unsupported, and unassisted polar expedition by any woman in history.
A Federal prosecutor has charged a "prominent" Indian-American of using his standing in the community to rip off others in a real estate scam that promised high rates of returns. Michael Easley, the federal prosecutor for eastern North Carolina, announced on Tuesday that Kumar Arun Neppalli, 56, has been charged with defrauding 12 people.
The court heard that on September 7 last year, Singh smashed a window in De Montfort House, Leicester city centre, with a hockey stick after getting a warning note on his car asking him not to park in the wrong spot.
