A 20-year-old Missouri man has admitted to a wild scheme to ram a rented truck into the White House with the ultimate aim of overthrowing the United States government and installing a Nazi dictatorship. Sai Varshith Kandula, a St. Louis resident and Indian national, pleaded guilty to charges of willful injury or depredation of property of the United States, as the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported on Monday.

In his plea, Kandula confessed to the May 22, 2023, attack, which caused panic as he drove onto a sidewalk, sending pedestrians fleeing. After failing to breach the perimeter, Kandula waved a Nazi flag, further escalating the scene before his arrest. This attempted breach inflicted over $54,000 in damages, including repair costs for National Park Service barriers and the destroyed U-Haul vehicle, U.S. officials detailed.

Authorities said the plot involved Kandula flying from St. Louis to D.C. and then renting a truck. He then proceeded to eat and refuel before the assault on the symbolic center of American leadership. The outcome could have been bloodier; as Kandula admitted in his statement, he was prepared to go to lethal lengths, including killing the U.S. President, to realize his despotic aspirations.

According to officials, Kandula's actions weren't impulsive but the culmination of weeks of planning, including attempts to procure large vehicles and armed guards. His ultimate goal, as divulged in the plea agreement, was to implement an autocracy guided by the dogma of Nazi Germany, replacing the democratically elected U.S. government. U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich has set Kandula's sentencing for August 23, 2024.

The investigation, led by a team of federal agencies, including the Secret Service and the Counterterrorism Division of the FBI, underscores the threat of ideological extremism. The case's prosecution falls to Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Schneider. Kandula remains in custody, pending his sentencing later this year.