Kuachua Brillion Xiong (Cass County Sheriff’s Office) and Joe Biden ((Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP)
A 27-year-old man in California who was caught driving across the country to Washington, D.C., with a slew of weapons in tow will be spending a couple of years behind bars after admitting he threatened to kill President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, among others.
U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame on Tuesday ordered Kuachua Brillion Xiong to serve two years in a federal prison, records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
In addition to his incarceration, Xiong will also be required to complete three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $100 to the Crime Victim’s Fund.
Xiong pleaded guilty to one count of threats against the president and successors to the president. In exchange for pleading guilty, prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa dropped charges of attempting to kill or kidnap a government official, threats against a former president and their family, attempting to kill a member of Congress, and possessing a firearm in the commission of a violent crime.
As previously reported, Xiong was pulled over by police in Iowa after being spotted “driving aggressively” by the Cass County Sheriff’s Office. The address of the White House was programmed into his GPS and he told deputies that he was making the cross-country drive to “take pictures” of the historic building.
However, the took a strange turn when Xiong began railing about the state of politics in the nation’s capital, rattling off right-wing conspiracy theories, and telling the deputy that “getting a hotel would not be necessary” for his trip.
“Xiong began to attempt to control the conversation and began talking about his disapproval for government due to the sex abuse of children, some of which that has occurred by President Biden,” investigators wrote.
During a consented search of the vehicle, deputies found the AR-15 style rifle, body armor, several loaded magazines, and noted that his GPS destination was the White House. Deputies also found money that was specifically “ear marked for Xiong’s funeral expenses,” leading them to bring him in for questioning.
In an interview with Secret Service agents, Xiong said that his job at a grocery store in Merced, California, was merely “cover” until he was “called upon by God to ‘combat evil demons in the White House,’” the complaint states.
“Xiong believes that he is the only person remaining who can free the United States of evil and it is necessary for him to kill those in positions of power. It is at this time Xiong began assembling the equipment needed to carry out his plan to kill those in power: an assault rifle, assault rifle magazines, ammunition, body armor, medical supplies, dark clothing, grappling hook, food, and cash,” the criminal complaint stated.
Xiong allowed authorities access to his phone which contained detailed notes dating back to October 2021 that appeared to show how he meticulously planned his excursion to Washington, D.C. He also allegedly provided agents with a drawing of the White House grounds and what he perceived to be a “weak spot” in the security. He said he identified the spot during his “pre-attack research,” per the complaint.
“Xiong told investigators that he departed his home near Sacramento, CA on or about Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021 with the intention of driving straight to the White House in Washington, DC to kill persons in power,” the complaint states.
“Xiong stated that he used the mobile application TikTok to download videos to his cellular phone. Xiong used the downloaded videos to compile a list of evil individuals he intended to kill, which included but is not limited to the following politicians and public figures: Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and Mark Zuckerberg. Xiong added that he would kill President Joseph Biden unless he promised to comply to Xiong’s demands.”
Xiong allegedly said he planned to use the grappling hook to traverse the perimeter fence and then gain access to the White House. Toward the end of the interview, he allegedly said that “nothing would stop him” from carrying out his plot to kill all of the people on his “hit list.”
“He added that if released from custody he would immediately resume traveling to the White House in Washington, DC and ‘do whatever it takes’ to complete his plan,” the complaint states. “Xiong stated that he has no intention of returning to California to see his family because he plans on dying while fighting evil demons at the White House.”
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