Man with guns in vehicle near White House taken into custody by Secret Service

The US Secret Service, the federal agency that protects top officials among other duties, detained a man on Thursday night near the White House in Washington after officers found several guns in his vehicle. According to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the man said he heard voices in his head telling him to kill US President Donald Trump. He has been charged.

How the arrest unfolded

DHS said Secret Service officers approached the man because he was acting suspiciously in a parked car. The suspect, named as Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos, then described voices in his head that told him to travel to the US capital and kill the Republican president.

Soon afterward, officers found that the vehicle had been reported stolen. The man also had three firearms and dozens of rounds of ammunition.

The suspect's status

The DHS statement described Chrinos as an immigrant from Venezuela who is in the country illegally, having entered the US through Texas in March 2024. He has been charged and is in the custody of the US Marshals Service.

Earlier cases

The incident is the latest in a series of arrests by the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies of people who have threatened the lives of Trump or his family members since he returned to office last year. The White House offered no comment and referred questions to DHS and the Secret Service.