FBI disrupts a planned attack on the White House UFC cage-fighting show, court papers say

By — Eric Tucker, Associated Press Eric Tucker, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/fbis-patel-announces-multiple-arrests-connected-to-planned-attacks-targeting-white-house-ufc-show Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter FBI disrupts a planned attack on the White House UFC cage-fighting show, court papers say Nation Updated on Jun 16, 2026 12:52 PM EDT — Published on Jun 16, 2026 9:46 AM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Law enforcement officials disrupted a planned attack targeting the UFC cage-fighting show staged at the White House this past weekend, according to court papers unsealed Tuesday that say plotters disgruntled with the direction of the country spoke of flying explosives-laden drones and shooting panicked crowd members as they fled. READ MORE: Trump celebrates 80th birthday with Iran deal ahead of UFC fights on White House South Lawn The FBI obtained encrypted text messages between roughly 20 participants who shared detailed maps of the area and discussed the need for a "safe house" and escape routes after the attack, the documents show. It was unclear from the court records how close the would-be attackers could have come to being able to carry out their plan had it not been thwarted last week. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. FBI agents learned about the possible threat on June 10, four days before the mixed martial arts extravaganza on the White House's South Lawn, "and thanks to the rapid action of the 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," Director Kash Patel said in a post on X on Tuesday. Five people were arrested from states including Ohio, Missouri and California, said a law enforcement official familiar with the matter. The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss information that was not yet public. WATCH: A sneak peek of UFC's Octagon at the White House Among those arrested was Tycen Proper, a 19-year-old Ohio man whose mother contacted local law enforcement last week with concerns about his firearms purchases and online communications, according to an FBI affidavit filed in the case. An assistant federal public defender assigned to represent Proper, who's charged with firearms offenses and crimes including attempted murder of an officer or employee of the United States, did not immediately return messages seeking comment. Proper made an initial court appearance Monday in Columbus and faces a detention hearing on Wednesday. Proper admitted in an interview with law enforcement that he participated in the planning of an attack, according to the affidavit, which says some members of the group began communicating with each other last March through a TikTok group called "Vanguard of the Old." "The