Secret Service officers arrested an armed man near the White House on the night of 5 November after he allegedly told them voices in his head were urging him to kill President Donald Trump.
Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos was approached by officers while sitting in a blue Ford F-150 pickup parked on Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security issued on 6 November. Officers had noticed him acting suspiciously in the vehicle and approached to check on him.
When questioned, he told officers he had heard voices telling him to travel to Washington and kill the president, the department said. Through a translation app, he also told investigators he had weapons he wanted to hand over to the government, according to NBC News.
A search of the pickup uncovered three firearms — an AR-15-style rifle, a MAC-10 and a Glock 43X pistol — along with dozens of rounds of ammunition. The vehicle had been reported stolen, the department said. Chrinos told investigators he had bought the guns about a month earlier and had been living in the vehicle.
He faces a series of firearms and vehicle charges, including carrying a rifle outside a home or business, three counts of unlawful transportation of a firearm, three counts of possessing unregistered firearms and three counts of possessing unregistered ammunition. He was also charged with carrying a pistol without a licence, unauthorised use of a motor vehicle, theft and receiving stolen property.
Chrinos appeared before the DC Superior Court on Friday and remains in US Marshals Service custody without bond. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has asked that he be held for possible immigration proceedings.
The Department of Homeland Security said Chrinos is a Venezuelan national who entered the United States illegally through Texas in March 2024 and was arrested by US Border Patrol before being released into the country.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin praised the officers involved. “Thanks to our brave Secret Service officers, this illegal alien with three firearms in his vehicle was arrested near the White House before he could harm anyone,” he said in the department’s statement.
Secret Service Director Sean Curran said the incident showed the agency’s training in de-escalating dangerous situations, and expressed concern about a rise in threats against the people the agency protects.
Note on the allegation: the claim that Chrinos spoke of voices telling him to kill the president comes from the Department of Homeland Security’s account. ABC News reported that the criminal complaint filed in DC Superior Court makes no mention of those remarks, and the allegation has not been tested in court. An arrest is not a conviction.
Sources: USA Today — https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/11/07/venezuelan-man-arrested-after-alleged-plot-to-kill-trump/92664796007/ ; US Department of Homeland Security statement, 6 November 2026.
