The FBI has arrested five men accused of planning a coordinated attack on a UFC fighting event held at the White House on Sunday, the US Department of Justice announced on Tuesday. The plot, allegedly organised through encrypted messaging apps, involved detonating explosive-laden drones to cause panic and then funnelling the fleeing crowd toward a waiting sniper team, with a second wave of attackers reportedly planning to storm the White House gate.
The FBI learned of the threat on 10 June — four days before the event — after the mother of Tycen Proper, 19, of Ohio, contacted local authorities over concerns about his large firearms purchases and his online communications with a group espousing ultra-religious and anti-government views. Proper admitted to investigators that he had been involved in planning the attack and said the group began organising in March through a TikTok group called "Vanguard of the Old Republic." Vetted members then moved their discussions to Signal, an end-to-end encrypted messaging app, in a primary chat of roughly 19 people, with smaller chats divided by role and location. The four other men arrested — Bryan Omar Roa, 24, and Michael Alan Thomas, 32, of California; Daniel K Eskridge, 32, of Missouri; and Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, of Nebraska — each face charges of conspiracy to commit murder, carrying a maximum penalty of life in prison.
According to court documents, the group described its goal as wanting to "jumpstart" a revolution, believing the United States needed to be "torn down so that it could be rebuilt." Alleged targets discussed included President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Elon Musk, as well as elected officials perceived as accepting funds from pro-Israel lobbies. The event itself drew an estimated 4,300 guests to the White House South Lawn, where the UFC matches were held as part of celebrations marking both Trump's 80th birthday and the United States' 250th anniversary. Trump, who was attending the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, when the arrests were announced, told reporters he had not been briefed on the foiled plot.
The disclosure of the investigation sparked a rare public dispute between federal agencies. Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn told reporters the investigation remains ongoing and expressed frustration that it had been made public at such an early stage, warning that doing so could undermine both its integrity and broader security planning. His remarks, including the pointed phrase "don't choke on your own smoke," were widely interpreted as a rebuke of FBI Director Kash Patel, who had posted about the arrests on social media Tuesday morning. The Secret Service said attendees at Sunday's event were never in harm's way.
The alleged plot is the latest in a string of violent incidents near the White House, coming roughly two months after a shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner and one month after a man was killed by Secret Service agents after opening fire at a White House checkpoint. Researchers at Michigan State University note that targeted political violence in the US grew by more than 30% from 2024 to 2025, and that such violence tends to be cyclical. A preliminary hearing in the case has been scheduled for 29 June.