An armed man was arrested near the White House after allegedly telling U.S. Secret Service officers that voices in his head had instructed him to travel to Washington, D.C., and kill President Donald Trump.
The incident took place on Thursday, November 5, when law enforcement officers discovered multiple firearms inside the suspect’s vehicle parked near the White House, according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The suspect was identified as Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos, a Venezuelan national. DHS said he had entered the United States illegally and was taken into custody following the discovery of several weapons and ammunition inside his vehicle.
Court documents reveal new details about Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos
Newly disclosed court documents have shed further light on the arrest of 26-year-old Chrinos.
According to an affidavit filed by a Secret Service police officer, Chrinos was found asleep inside a parked blue Ford F-150 pickup truck at approximately 11:42 p.m. on Thursday. An officer woke him up and approached the vehicle, initially treating the encounter as a welfare check, NBC News reported.
During their interaction, Chrinos used Google Translate to communicate with the officer. He reportedly informed authorities that he had weapons inside the vehicle and wanted to surrender them to the government.
Also Read: Stephen Miller hails Trump, says GOP is ‘stronger and more popular than ever’ despite midterm defeat
The affidavit also detailed several unusual statements he allegedly made through the translation application.
“I have the item they wanted to kill me over, along with the outfit to go with it; if you want, I can hand it over without putting up any resistance,” Chrinos told the officer.
He also allegedly explained why he had the firearms, saying: “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.”
Three firearms recovered from suspect’s vehicle
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), officers discovered three firearms and ammunition inside the pickup truck after Chrinos acknowledged that weapons were present.
The recovered weapons included an AR-15-style rifle, a MAC-10 handgun and a Glock 43X pistol, along with ammunition.
Court documents further state that Chrinos told investigators the pickup truck belonged to his employer, who had allegedly lent it to him. He also claimed that he had purchased the firearms approximately a month earlier and had been living inside the vehicle.
However, officials said the vehicle had previously been reported stolen, raising additional questions about how Chrinos had obtained possession of it.
Multiple charges filed against Chrinos
Following the discovery, Chrinos was arrested and faced several firearm-related and vehicle-related charges.
According to DHS, the charges included carrying a rifle outside a home or business, three counts of unlawful transportation of a firearm, three counts involving unregistered firearms and three counts involving unregistered ammunition.
He was also charged with possession of certain dangerous weapons, carrying a pistol without a licence, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, theft and receiving stolen property.
Suspect allegedly told Secret Service he heard voices urging him to kill Trump
During the interaction, the suspect allegedly made a disturbing statement to the officers, claiming that “he heard voices in his head telling him to come to Washington, D.C. and kill President Trump.”
According to the DHS release, Chrinos is currently being held in federal custody under the supervision of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Homeland Security Secretary praises Secret Service officers
Reacting to the arrest, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin credited Secret Service personnel for identifying the potential threat and taking action before anyone was harmed.
“Thanks to our brave Secret Service officers, [the suspect] was arrested near the White House before he could harm anyone,” Mullin said.
The department highlighted the officers’ response as an important security intervention, given the alleged threats against the president and the weapons recovered from the vehicle.
Secret Service Director raises concerns over increasing security threats
Following the incident, U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran expressed concern about the growing number of security threats involving individuals approaching the White House complex.
In his statement, Curran said the latest arrest reflected the increasingly challenging security environment faced by law enforcement personnel.
“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,” he said.
He further acknowledged that officers are trained to respond to such situations but expressed concern about the frequency of these incidents.
“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 added.