Man found with guns in pickup near White House held without bond on firearms, vehicle charges

A man ABC News identified as Ronny Guanipa-Chrinos was held without bond after an initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court on Friday, Nov. 6, on firearms and vehicle charges, ABC News reported, citing online court records.¹ The arrest came shortly before midnight Thursday, Nov. 5, when a Secret Service officer on patrol found him in a parked pickup on Constitution Avenue near the White House complex, according to the charging affidavit as described by ABC News.¹

The Department of Homeland Security said the man is a Venezuelan national who is in the country without legal status and who entered through Texas in 2024, ABC News reported.¹ The National News Desk reported his name as Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos, age 26, and said DHS reported he entered in March 2024, was arrested by the Border Patrol and was later released.²

What officials and court papers say

According to the affidavit as reported by ABC News, the officer knocked on the window of the vehicle, a blue Ford F-150 that the affidavit says had been reported stolen, and asked whether the man was OK and whether he had weapons. The affidavit says the man nodded and made a gesture like a gun with his fingers, and after stepping out told investigators through Google Translate that a gun was "in the brown bag," ABC reported.¹ The man told investigators the truck belonged to his boss, who had lent it to him, The National News Desk reported.²

DHS said officers found a MAC-10, a Glock 43X pistol and an AR-15 rifle, along with "dozens of rounds of ammunition," ABC News reported.¹

DHS said the man threatened to kill President Donald Trump, according to both outlets. Both reported that the court affidavit does not include that alleged threat.¹² SignalData could not open the DHS release or the affidavit to confirm either account.

Secret Service Director Sean Curran said officers calmed a tense encounter and described it as part of a period of elevated threats, and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin praised the officers, The National News Desk reported.²

The charges

Outlets listed the charges differently. ABC News reported unauthorized use of a vehicle, receiving stolen property, carrying a pistol without a license, carrying a rifle without a license and other firearms counts.¹ The National News Desk listed unlawful transportation of firearms, unregistered firearms and ammunition, carrying a rifle outside a home or business, carrying a pistol without a license, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, theft and receiving stolen property.² No charge reported by either outlet involves a threat.

NBC News, citing a federal law enforcement source, reported that prosecutors were reviewing the evidence and that he was expected in federal court Monday, according to The National News Desk.²

His defense

Neither outlet named a defense attorney, and The National News Desk reported it was not clear whether he had one.² SignalData found no statement from an attorney for him.

What the records do not show

• The charges as written in the court file. SignalData could not open the D.C. Superior Court complaint or affidavit; the counts above are as reported by news outlets.
• The text of the DHS release. Its address returned an access-denied error to SignalData, so DHS's account here comes from ABC News and The National News Desk.
• Any Secret Service or U.S. Attorney's Office release on the arrest, or any federal charge. None was found as of Nov. 7.
• How the pickup came to be reported stolen, or who owns the firearms.