A Venezuelan man has been arrested near the White House after Secret Service officers found three firearms and ammunition in a stolen pickup, the Department of Homeland Security said on Friday.

The arrest happened on Thursday night, shortly before midnight, when an officer on patrol spotted a blue Ford F-150 parked on Constitution Avenue near the White House. The officer approached the vehicle and asked the man inside whether he was all right and whether he had any weapons. According to the criminal complaint, the man said he did and made a finger-gun gesture with his hand.

The search found an AR-15-style rifle, a MAC-10 machine pistol and a Glock 43X handgun, plus dozens of rounds. The truck had been reported stolen.

In a statement on Friday, the department said the man, Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos, 26, told officers voices in his head told him to come to Washington and kill President Donald Trump. But ABC News, which reviewed the criminal complaint, reported that the affidavit does not include those remarks: the threat claim comes from the department's account, not the court papers.

Guanipa Chrinos faces charges including unauthorised use of a motor vehicle, receiving stolen property, carrying a pistol and a rifle without a licence, and unlawful transportation and possession of unregistered firearms and ammunition. He appeared in court on Friday and is held without bond by the US Marshals Service, with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer lodged against him.

The department said he entered the United States illegally through Texas in March 2024 and was later released after arrest by the Border Patrol. Secret Service Director Sean Curran said armed people keep approaching the White House complex, heightening the threat to its officers. He is presumed innocent unless convicted.

[Source: washingtonsun.com](https://www.washingtonsun.com/whitehouse/secret-service-arrests-man-near-white-house-voices-telling-him-to-kill-trump) | [Source: auraxnews.com](https://auraxnews.com/armed-man-arrested-near-white-house-dhs-says-he-threatened-trump/)