A man identified as an illegal immigrant from Venezuela was arrested Thursday near the White House after allegedly stating that voices in his head instructed him to travel to Washington D.C. and assassinate President Donald Trump. The suspect was taken into custody after U.S. Secret Service officers observed him acting suspiciously in a vehicle parked on Constitution Avenue.
During the encounter, officers discovered the vehicle had been reported stolen and found that the suspect was in possession of multiple firearms. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the recovered weapons included an AR-15-style rifle, two handguns, and numerous rounds of ammunition.
The suspect, Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos, reportedly entered the U.S. illegally through Texas in March 2024 and was subsequently released under the Biden administration's policies, officials told Fox News.
He is currently in custody with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement having lodged a detainer.
US Secret Service Director Sean Curran stated that the incident highlights a growing threat from armed individuals drawn to the White House complex. "While our personnel are trained to respond to situations like this and we remain confident in our tactics, we are alarmed by the increase in threat cases that continue to arise," Curran said. "The Secret Service will continue expanding our focus on proactively investigating and identifying individuals who make threats to our protectees, in order to disrupt threats before they arrive in Washington."