Federal Agents Arrest Man Near White House

Secret Service officers arrested Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos near the White House Thursday after finding firearms and ammunition in a truck where he had been sleeping, the Department of Homeland Security said. Officers initially approached him for a welfare check. The encounter soon placed him inside the federal apparatus, facing a long list of weapons and vehicle charges.

A welfare check becomes an arrest

A Secret Service police officer’s affidavit filed in court said Chrinos, 26, was asleep in a parked blue Ford F-150 on Constitution Avenue when officers woke and confronted him at 11:42 p.m. Thursday. The government said the vehicle had been reported stolen.

Using Google Translate, Chrinos told an officer he had weapons he wanted to turn over to the government, according to the affidavit. Through the app, he allegedly said: “I have the item they wanted to kill me over, along with the outfit to go with it; if you want, I can hand it over without putting up any resistance.”

The affidavit also quoted him as saying: “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.” Those statements came during an encounter that began as a welfare check and ended with officers taking him into custody.

The Department of Homeland Security said officers found an AR-15 style rifle, a Mac 10 handgun, a Glock 43X pistol and ammunition. Chrinos had told officers there were weapons in the vehicle, DHS said.

Charges and custody

DHS said Chrinos faces one count of 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. The department also listed 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.

Chrinos told investigators the truck belonged to his boss, who had lent it to him, according to the affidavit. He also said he had bought the weapons a month earlier and had been living in the vehicle. DHS said he was in custody Friday. A federal law enforcement source said prosecutors were reviewing the evidence and Chrinos would appear in federal court on Monday.

The report says it wasn't clear whether Chrinos had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. The charges are allegations; the article provides no account from a lawyer representing him.

The government’s account

DHS said Chrinos entered the United States illegally in 2024, was arrested by Border Patrol and later released. The department provided no further details about his case.

DHS said officers approached Chrinos after alleging he acted suspiciously while parked on Constitution Avenue. The department quoted him as saying: “When they confronted the suspect, he said that he heard voices in his head telling him to come to Washington, D.C. and kill President Trump.”

Secret Service Director Sean Curran said the arrest showed agents’ training and their aim of de-escalating volatile situations. “While our personnel 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. The agency’s director had the final word; the available account leaves Chrinos without a publicly identified attorney to speak for him.