A Venezuelan national was arrested near the White House on Thursday night after US Secret Service officers found three firearms and dozens of rounds of ammunition inside a reportedly stolen vehicle, the US Department of Homeland Security said on Friday.
The suspect, identified as 26-year-old Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos, allegedly told officers that he had heard voices telling him to travel to Washington and kill US President Donald Trump, according to DHS.
A Secret Service officer on patrol spotted the vehicle parked on Constitution Avenue, near the White House complex, shortly before midnight on Thursday, according to the affidavit. When the officer knocked on the window of the blue Ford F-150 and asked whether he was OK and whether he had any weapons, Guanipa Chrinos allegedly nodded and made a finger-gun gesture.
The affidavit alleged that, after getting out of the vehicle, he allegedly told investigators through Google Translate, “I have the gun because they tried to kill me with it, and I had to take it away from them; it’s in the brown bag."
Officers found an AR-15-style rifle and two handguns in the vehicle, which was parked on Constitution Avenue near the White House, DHS reported.
Charges and custody
Guanipa Chrinos, who DHS said entered the US illegally through Texas in March 2024, remains in US Marshals Service custody. He was arrested on three counts each of unlawful transportation of a firearm, carrying unregistered firearms and carrying unregistered ammunition, along with one count each of possession of certain dangerous weapons, carrying a pistol without a license, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, theft and receiving stolen property, DHS said.
“This is the latest example of Secret Service personnel relying on extensive training and experience to deescalate a volatile situation that posed an imminent threat to our protectees and other Americans,” said Secret Service Director Sean Curran. “This incident reflects the heightened threat environment in which we operate, as well as the continued number of armed individuals who are drawn to the White House complex.”
Trump has survived multiple previous assassination attempts including: a shooting at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, in which he was wounded in the ear, an incident that September in which a gunman was found near his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, and a shooting during a White House Correspondents' Association dinner at the Washington Hilton where Trump and administration officials were in attendance.