Threat Against Joe Biden

Background

At the time, Joe Biden was listed as sitting president. The record is categorized as attempted assassination with a high confidence level.

Event details

The reported method was vehicle attack. Failed; truck hit security barrier near White House.

Aftermath

Kandula drove a rented U-Haul truck into the security barrier at Lafayette Square near the White House on May 22, 2023; Biden was not at the White House at the time and was unharmed. Kandula was arrested at the scene without resistance; Nazi flags were found in the truck and he reportedly told police he intended to overthrow the government and install himself as dictator. He was charged with threatening to kill the president, destruction of federal property, and other offenses. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years in federal prison in 2024. The incident added to a series of security breaches near the White House and prompted additional reviews of vehicle barriers and perimeter protections around the complex.

Historical significance

The Kandula truck-ramming was part of a broader pattern of vehicle-based threats against the White House complex that prompted ongoing reviews of perimeter barrier standards and the adequacy of bollard systems at federal installations nationwide. Kandula's explicitly stated goal—installing himself as dictator and establishing a Nazi government—reflected the radicalized threat landscape of the mid-2020s and contributed to the Secret Service's updated threat profile work for the current era. The six-year sentence set a reference point for similar vehicle-ramming threat prosecutions under the D.C. federal system. The incident also renewed public debate about whether the physical fortress quality of the modern White House has come at the cost of the democratic openness the building is meant to symbolize.

Sources

• Attempted Attack on the White House with a Rented Box Truck Results in 8-Year Sentence for Missouri Man — U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia
• List of United States presidential assassination attempts and plots — Wikipedia contributors