Officials say suspect described hearing voices telling him to kill the president
A man found with multiple guns in a vehicle near the White House was taken into custody and charged after telling officers that voices in his head were urging him to kill President Donald Trump, the U.S. Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security said.
The arrest happened Thursday night, after Secret Service officers approached a man “acting suspicious” in a parked car, according to the Homeland Security statement.
U.S. officials said the man, identified as Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos, then went on to describe voices telling him to come to the nation’s capital and kill the president.
Shortly afterward, officers discovered that the vehicle had been reported stolen and that Chrinos had three different firearms and dozens of rounds of ammunition, the statement said.
The statement described Chrinos as a migrant from Venezuela who is in the country illegally after entering the United States through Texas in March 2024.
DHS said Chrinos has been charged and remains in U.S. Marshals Service custody.
“Thanks to our brave Secret Service officers, this illegal alien with three firearms in his vehicle was arrested near the White House before he could harm anyone,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in the statement.
The White House did not provide comment, referring inquiries to the Homeland Security Department and the Secret Service.
The arrest adds to a series of detentions that the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies have carried out against people accused of threatening Trump or his family members’ lives since he returned to office last year.