FBI thwarts drone-and-sniper plot targeting White House UFC event, five men arrested

The plot

Federal authorities disrupted a coordinated plan to attack the Ultimate Fighting Championship event held at the White House on Sunday, 14 June. According to charging documents, the alleged conspirators intended to fly drones carrying explosives toward nearby buildings to trigger a mass evacuation, then direct the fleeing crowd into the line of fire of pre-positioned snipers. A second wave of attackers was to storm the White House gates.

The FBI became aware of the threat on 10 June, four days before the mixed martial arts gala on the South Lawn. Director Kash Patel announced the operation on X at 6:50 a.m. ET on 16 June, writing that "multiple individuals are now in custody and allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold."

The suspects

The five men arrested are Tycen C. Proper (19, Ohio), Bryan Omar Roa (24, California), Michael Alan Thomas (32, California), Daniel K. Eskridge (32, Missouri), and Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez (31, Nebraska). All face charges of conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit violence on White House grounds. Fox News Digital reported that 23 people were identified as part of the plotting network, and a federal law enforcement official told USA Today that at least 10 additional individuals were still being sought for questioning before Patel's public announcement.

Proper's mother contacted local police on 10 June with concerns about her son's firearms purchases and online communications. In an 11 June interview with investigators, Proper admitted participating in attack planning. The group communicated via encrypted messaging apps and had discussed grievances including government corruption, the handling of Jeffrey Epstein files, and data centres allegedly draining community water supplies.

“On these persons we will focus.”

The targets

The guest list for the invitation-only event included President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, businessman Elon Musk, UFC CEO Dana White, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, and Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison. Court filings indicate the group discussed targeting "high value targets", wealthy individuals and elected officials attending the UFC gala. Approximately 4,300 people attended on the South Lawn, with roughly 85,000 more watching from surrounding areas.

Inter-agency friction

The investigation generated tension between the FBI and the Secret Service. Deputy Secret Service Director Matthew Quinn told reporters that the plot was an "active" and "ongoing" conspiracy, and that suspects remained at large when Patel made his public statement. A federal law enforcement official said the Secret Service and other agencies were still searching for at least 10 additional people for questioning when the announcement pushed the investigation onto front pages.

“It was an active plot and it is ongoing. There are still suspects at large and we will continue until everyone is identified.”

Critics have faulted Patel for a pattern of public disclosures about ongoing operations, noting he posts far more about active FBI cases than predecessors James Comey and Christopher Wray did. Patel has 2 million followers on X.

The ideology

Investigators described the group as holding anti-government and religiously inflected extremist views. Some members connected initially through a TikTok group called "Vanguard of the Old." According to German-language reporting, the suspects adhered to a right-wing accelerationist ideology that seeks to hasten societal collapse to bring about radical political transformation. Proper told investigators the group believed the country was heading in the wrong direction and needed to be destroyed before it could be rebuilt.

Ohio1

California2

Missouri1

Nebraska1

Ohio

1 suspects

California

2 suspects

Missouri

1 suspects

Nebraska

1 suspects

Data from the article text

Broader context

The White House complex and events tied to the president have faced repeated threats. The 2024 Butler, Pennsylvania rally where Trump was wounded by gunfire, a later incident at his Florida golf club, and an episode at this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner form a pattern of political violence that the UFC plot extends. Armed individuals have also died attempting to breach the security perimeter at Mar-a-Lago, and a shooting occurred near a White House security checkpoint in recent months.