A Venezuelan man who had weapons in his vehicle and told police that voices in his head were urging him to kill President Donald Trump was arrested Thursday near the White House, the federal government said.
The Department of Homeland Security said Friday that Ronny Yorndrix Guanipa Chrinos was approached by Secret Service agents who alleged he was acting suspiciously while parked on Constitution Avenue.
“When they confronted the suspect, he reported hearing voices in his head telling him to come to Washington and kill President Trump,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
Chrinos, who federal authorities said was in the country illegally, was in a vehicle that had been reported stolen, authorities said. He told officers there were weapons inside, and officers later found an AR-15-style rifle, a MAC-10 handgun, a Glock 43X pistol and ammunition, DHS said.
A Secret Service police officer’s affidavit filed in court says Chrinos, 26, was sleeping in a parked blue Ford F-150 when he was awakened and confronted by officers at 11:42 p.m. Thursday.
At first, officers treated it as a welfare check, but Chrinos used Google Translate to tell an officer he had guns and wanted to turn them in to the government, the affidavit states.
Chrinos also said via Google Translate: “I have the item they wanted to kill me for, as well as the outfit that goes with it; if you want, I can hand it over without putting up any resistance,” the affidavit states.
According to the court document, he also said via the app: “I have the gun because they tried to kill me with it, and I had to take it away from them; it’s in the brown bag.”
Chrinos told investigators the truck belonged to his boss, who loaned it to him, according to the affidavit. He also said he purchased the guns a month ago and was living in the vehicle.
Chrinos was 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, DHS said.
He was also charged with one count each of possession of certain dangerous weapons, carrying a pistol without a license, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, theft and receiving stolen property, the department said.
A federal law enforcement source said prosecutors were reviewing the evidence against Chrinos and he would appear in federal court Monday.
He was in custody Friday, DHS said. It was unclear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
DHS said Chrinos entered the United States illegally in 2024, was arrested by Border Patrol and then released.
DHS did not provide further details about his case.
Secret Service Director Sean Curran said the arrest highlights agents’ training and their focus on de-escalating volatile situations.
“While our staff 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,” Curran said in a statement.
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