Man held after guns found in stolen truck near White House, DHS says

As of 10:10 p.m. ET, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026

A Venezuelan man arrested late Thursday, Nov. 5, near the White House with three firearms in a reported-stolen pickup truck is charged with weapons and vehicle offenses in Washington, D.C., and was scheduled to appear in federal court Monday, Nov. 9, according to a federal law enforcement source cited by NBC News.

The Department of Homeland Security said U.S. Secret Service officers arrested Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos on Constitution Avenue on the evening of Nov. 5. DHS said that when officers confronted him, "he said that he heard voices in his head telling him to come to Washington, D.C. and kill President Trump."

That alleged remark is not in the complaint affidavit filed in D.C. Superior Court, ABC News reported. None of the charges listed by DHS accuses him of threatening the president.

What the affidavit says

A Secret Service police officer's affidavit says Guanipa Chrinos, 26, was asleep in a parked blue Ford F-150 when an officer woke him at 11:42 p.m. Thursday, NBC News reported. The encounter began as a welfare check, NBC said.

When the officer asked whether he was OK and whether he had any weapons, he allegedly nodded and made a finger-gun gesture, ABC News reported, citing the affidavit. Using Google Translate, he allegedly told investigators, "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," according to the affidavit as quoted by both outlets.

He told investigators the truck belonged to his boss, who had lent it to him, and that he had bought the weapons a month earlier and had been living in the vehicle, NBC News reported, citing the affidavit. The vehicle had been reported stolen, according to the affidavit and DHS.

Officers found an AR-15-style rifle, a MAC-10 and a Glock 43X pistol, along with "dozens of rounds of ammunition," DHS said.

The charges

DHS said he has been charged with carrying a rifle outside a home or business; three counts each of unlawful transportation of a firearm, unregistered firearms and unregistered ammunition; and 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.

He made an initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court on Friday and was ordered held without bond, according to online court records cited by ABC News. A federal law enforcement source told NBC News that prosecutors were reviewing the evidence and that he would appear in federal court Monday. No outcome of that appearance had been reported as of Monday evening.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer with the U.S. Marshals Service, where he is in custody, DHS said. The department said he entered the United States through Texas in March 2024, was arrested by the Border Patrol and was then released into the country, which it blamed on the Biden administration.

Secret Service cites 'heightened threat environment'

Secret Service Director Sean Curran said in the DHS statement that the arrest "reflects the heightened threat environment in which we operate, as well as the continued number of armed individuals who are drawn to the White House complex."

"We are alarmed by the increase in threat cases that continue to arise," Curran said.