Heavily armed man arrested in Iowa says he was on his way to White House to kill Biden and Fauci

Suspect had been driving for days before being intercepted

Joe Biden departing the White House on Monday (EPA)

Authorities in Iowa have announced the arrest of a 25-year-old individual who allegedly wanted to kill Dr Anthony Fauci and president Joe Biden.

Kuachua Brillion Xiong was arrested on 21 December while in possession of an AR-15 rifle, ammunition, loaded magazines, body armour and medical kits, according to a criminal complaint.

Mr Xiong told investigators he would “do whatever it takes” to kill US government leaders on his “hit list,” including the president and his chief medical adviser.

As NBC News reported on Wednesday, former US president Barack Obama and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg also appeared on his list.

US Secret Service agent Justin Larson said the 25-year-old had driven from his home near Sacramento, California, on 18 December with directions set for the White House, in a criminal complaint.

He had a hand-drawn map of the White House that included a “weak spot” that Mr Larson said had been “identified during his pre-attack research”.

Mr Xiong also told investigators he had “the intention of driving straight to the White House ... to kill persons in power”, and would have continued driving if not stopped.

The criminal complaint identified Mr Xiong as an employee of grocery store Merced, and that Mr Xiong told investigators was merely cover “until called upon by God ‘to combat evil demons in the White House’”.

“Xiong stated that he has no intention of returning to California to see his family because he plans on dying while fighting evil demons in the White House,” the complaint added.

He was charged with making threats against a former US president and is currently being held in Pottawattamie County Jail, Iowa. The charge is a federal crime.

According to reports, the complaint was unsealed by a judge ahead of a detention hearing on Thursday.

It was unclear if Mr Xiong had a lawyer.