Donald Trump assassination attempt? Venezuelan man living illegally in US arrested with guns near White House, said voices in his head told him to kill the President

A Venezuelan man who had guns in his vehicle was arrested near the White House on Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a press release. The suspect, Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos, was approached by Secret Service officers who said he was acting suspiciously while parked on Constitution Avenue, as per the statement. Chrinos told officers that voices in his head urged him to kill President Donald Trump, according to NBC News.

"When they confronted the suspect, he said that he heard voices in his head telling him to come to Washington, D.C. and kill President Trump," the DHS said in its statement.

3 guns and ammunition seized

Chrinos, who was not legally permitted to be in the United States, was in a vehicle that had been reported stolen, officials said, according to NBC News. As per the DHS statement, officers found dozens of rounds of ammunition and three weapons inside the vehicle: an AR-15 style rifle, a MAC-10 handgun, and a Glock 43X pistol.

A Secret Service affidavit filed in court said that Chrinos, aged 26 years, was asleep in a parked blue Ford F-150 when he was awoken and confronted by officers shortly before 12 pm on Thursday.

Initially, officers treated it as a welfare check, but Chrinos used Google Translate to tell them that he had weapons he wanted to turn over to the government, NBC reported citing the affidavit.

Chrinos later told investigators that the truck belonged to his boss, who had lent it to him, the affidavit stated. He also said he had purchased the weapons a month ago and had been living in the vehicle.

Chrinos entered US unlawfully in 2024

Chrinos has since been charged with carrying a rifle outside a home or business, three counts of unlawful transportation of a firearm, three counts of unregistered firearms, and three counts of unregistered ammunition, the DHS said. Other charges against him include unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and theft.

Chrinos had entered the US illegally via Texas in 2024, and was arrested by Border Patrol before later being released, the DHS said. He was in custody as of Friday.

Secret Service Director Sean Curran issued a statement on the incident saying: "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." Trump has been the target of several assassination attempts since he entered politics.