The Secret Service arrested a man parked near the White House late Thursday night after officers found three firearms and dozens of rounds of ammunition in his car. The Department of Homeland Security says he told officers that voices in his head instructed him to come to Washington, D.C. and kill Trump.
DHS identified the man as Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos and says he is a Venezuelan national who entered the country illegally. According to a criminal complaint filed in D.C., a Secret Service officer on patrol spotted his vehicle parked on Constitution Avenue near the White House complex shortly before midnight. A law enforcement source told CBS News the car was in the 1600 block of Constitution Avenue NW, near the Ellipse, the large park just south of the White House.
Officers said he was acting suspicious inside the car. When they asked whether he had any weapons, he allegedly nodded yes and made a finger gun gesture, according to the complaint. After stepping 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.”
The car turned out to be stolen. Guanipa Chrinos was arrested on multiple firearms charges, along with unauthorized use of a vehicle and receiving stolen property.
The claim about the voices comes from DHS, not the court filing. In its statement, the department said he told officers he heard voices directing him to travel to D.C. and kill Trump. The complaint affidavit, which is the sworn document officers file to explain the arrest, does not include those remarks. None of the charges announced so far involve threatening Trump.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin praised the officers in the department’s statement. “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,” Mullin said.
Secret Service Director Sean Curran said the arrest showed how the agency handles dangerous situations around the White House. “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,” Curran said. “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.”
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No one was hurt. DHS has not released details on how long Guanipa Chrinos has been in the country, where the guns came from or who the car belonged to.
