A Venezuelan national who was in the United States illegally was arrested near the White House on Thursday. Authorities say he was in a reported stolen vehicle with several firearms and had threatened to kill President Donald Trump.
The Department of Homeland Security said Secret Service officers approached the man Thursday evening after seeing him behaving suspiciously in a car parked on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C.
According to DHS, the man told officers he had heard voices telling him to travel to the capital and kill Trump. Officers found that the car had been reported stolen, and the man acknowledged there were weapons inside.
Investigators recovered three firearms—a rifle styled after an AR-15 and two handguns—as well as dozens of rounds of ammunition.
Officials identified the suspect as Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos. He entered the country illegally through Texas in March 2024 and was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol, officials said. He was later released into the country during the Biden administration.
After his arrest, Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed a detainer for Chrinos with the U.S. Marshals Service, which currently has him in custody.
The Secret Service said the case highlights the growing threat from armed people drawn to the White House complex.
“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,” Director Sean Curran said in a statement.
Curran said the agency was concerned by the rising number of threats, despite officers’ training and confidence in their response tactics. He added that the Secret Service would broaden efforts to identify and investigate people who threaten those under its protection, aiming to disrupt threats before they reach Washington.
The story is developing.
