The FBI foiled an alleged plot to attack Sunday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the White House, FBI Director Kash Patel said Tuesday morning in a post on X. “On June 10, FBI and our law enforcement partners became aware of a potential threat to the UFC America 250 event in Washing ton, D.C. involving individuals outside of the National Capital Region — and thanks to the rapid action of this FBI, our partners, and the Department of Justice in a multi-state operation, multiple individuals are now in custody and allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold,” Patel said in the post. In an affidavit released Tuesday, the FBI laid out the alleged would-be attackers’ detailed plot to target the UFC fight with explosive-laden drones and shooters to fire at the fleeing crowd. Nineteen people were involved in a chat discussing the alleged plot, according to the affidavit. Details of the plan were first reported by Fox News. Among the arrested is 19-year-old Tycen Proper. He was apprehended in Ohio and charged with attempted murder and several firearms violations after admitting to investigators he helped plan an attack, the affidavit said. FBI task force officer Christopher Betts said in the court document that Proper’s mother called police in Ohio last Wednesday to express concerns about her son due to “recent conduct,” including firearms purchases and communications with “random” individuals online. His family also told law enforcement officers that Proper recently made “concerning statements,” including “making sympathetic comments about Adolf Hitler and posting anti-Semitic comments on Facebook.” When the Knox County sheriff’s officers arrived at the family home, they allegedly found thousands of rounds of ammunition, an assault-style rifle, and a bullpup rifle — purchased on June 5 — painted with an American flag. “The equipment was turned over voluntarily by the family to law enforcement,” Betts wrote. UFC 23 hours ago UFC boss Dana White says ‘never again' to another White House fight night White House Jun 14 UFC brings its trademark mayhem to the White House as President Trump celebrates 80th birthday The sheriff’s office then took Proper to a local hospital for emergency admission “based on homicidal ideations,” he wrote. The next day, the sheriff’s office contacted the FBI. In an interview with Proper’s mother, Betts wrote, she told them Proper “had recently begun interacting with a group online that was comprised of individuals who claimed to be ex-military and Christian-based.” Proper allegedly described the plan for the attack in an interview with investigators, saying that the group’s members would meet in Fredericksburg, Virginia, a day or two before the UFC fight. The suspect said he “was not going to the protest in order to shoot people,” but noted that “several other members of the group were intent on violence,” Betts wrote. The plan, the FBI alleged based on its interview with Proper, was to stage a “demonstration” on the north side of the White House. “While the demonstration was taking place, the group would fly small, unmanned aircraft (i.e. drones) laden with unspecified explosive devices which would detonate over the north side of the UFC arena,” the affidavit said. “When the unmanned aircraft detonated, the intent was to force the crowd attending the UFC event and high-value targets (HVTs) to evacuate to the south.” Proper allegedly said that members of the group would then shoot the fleeing crowd. “According to Proper, this attack was designed to ‘jumpstart’ a revolution in the United States,” the document said. Proper also allegedly said that “members of the group believed that the United States needed to be torn down so that it could be rebuilt” and that some members “expressed a desire that people who were involved with Jeffrey Epstein should not govern the country.” President Donald Trump, who attended the UFC event, was once friends with Epstein but has said they had a falling out. The White House has also said that Trump kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago “for being a creep.” Federal authorities also arrested 32-year-old Missouri man Daniel Eskridge, charging him with conspiracy to commit murder, in connection with a plan to attack the event. FBI Special Agent Andrew Brown said that after Proper was arrested in Ohio, he identified the usernames of people in encrypted group chats, including Eskridge. The FBI said Eskridge’s home was searched on Saturday, when the FBI found “additional evidence of his involvement in the conspiracy.” According to messages reviewed by the FBI, he told members of the group chat that he was preparing his garage in Missouri to serve as a “safe house” and was building a “bunker” under the floorboards of his shed. Eskridge had an interest in attacking members of Congress and the power grid, according to the detailed plans written by Eskridge in group chats and reviewed by the FBI. “The messages included maps with pins to locate positions of attack, as well as planned routes of escape following the execution of the group’s plan,” the affidavit said. “Once the details were settled among other members of the group, Eskridge stated, ‘I’m liking it, now if we can keep it all coordinated it should work.’” Items seized from Eskridge’s house include two rifles, a shotgun, a pistol, two tactical vests with ballistic plates, ammunition-filled magazines and a multi-cam gun belt with a medical kit. A third man, identified by federal authorities as Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, was also arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, after online group chat messages were discovered linking Alvarez to a plot to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event. “Shepherd,” which the FBI says they have probable cause to believe is Alvarez’s online alias, posted detailed location and logistical information related to their plan. “Shepherd also provided locations in the area for drone launch points and sniper positions. He also instructed members that he believed the Thomas Jefferson Memorial offered the cleanest route to exfiltrate from the area,” FBI Special Agent Mercedes Smith writes in an affidavit provided to NBC News by the Department of Justice. “They will engage when they see the signal,” Alvarez wrote in a chat, according to Smith. “Told them they know will know when they see it.” Alvarez further stated, the FBI writes, “at the same time, this day, several other ops are happening all at once. Keeps the enemy distracted while we cut the arteries.” Alvarez shared a screenshot that listed potential individuals for the group to target, including “1,” who the FBI says they believe is “likely identifiable with President Trump,” “2,” who the FBI says they believe is “likely referring to Vice President JD Vance,” “N,” who they believe was “referring to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” and “Musk,” referring to Elon Musk. Vice President JD Vance said in an interview on “Fox and Friends” that he believed the FBI was informing the public about the plot “because the scale of the planned attack is so significant,” adding that he had only just heard about the foiled plot this morning. Asked at the Group of Seven summit in France about the alleged plot, President Donald Trump said, “I haven’t heard about it.” “The attack that I watched was the fighters,” he added. Reached for comment, an FBI spokesperson referred NBC News to Patel’s post. The Justice Department declined to comment, and the White House did not immediately provide comment. In a statement on X, Secret Service Director Sean Curran said that his agency “worked closely with the FBI throughout this investigation.” “In the days leading up to this weekend, our special agents, mission support personnel, and technical security teams worked around the clock to identify those responsible and hold them accountable,” Curran wrote. “Equally important to our protective mission is ensuring accountability through the justice system.” The Secret Service’s “formal comments” on plot details would be made through court filings, he said. There was an enormous, visible law-enforcement presence in and around the White House complex over the weekend. Law enforcement officials blocked off roads, used fencing to control crowds, and deployed hundreds of federal, state, and local officers to the crowd of thousands at or near the White House. A string of acts of political violence and attempted attacks have rocked the country in recent years. In April, a man allegedly armed with guns and knives ran through a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. The suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate the president. In 2024, Trump faced two assassination attempts. In the first, a gunman opened fire at the president during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Months later, a man aimed a rifle through bushes at Trump’s club in West Palm Beach, where the president was playing golf, before Secret Service agents spotted him and fired at him, causing him to flee. Last year, a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband were killed in what authorities called a “politically motivated” attack. The suspect, Vance Boelter, has pleaded guilty to the crime. Months after those shootings, conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at a political event. Lawmakers too, are facing a spike in threats. The U.S. Capitol Police said they investigated nearly 15,000 “concerning statements, behaviors, and communications” targeting lawmakers, their families, staff or the Capitol last year. The prior year, police investigated more than 9,000 potential threats. ...read more read less