US justice department charges five men over alleged plot to attack White House UFC event

Security at the White House on 13 June 2026, in Washington DC. Photograph: Allison Robbert/AP View image in fullscreen Security at the White House on 13 June 2026, in Washington DC. Photograph: Allison Robbert/AP US justice department charges five men over alleged plot to attack White House UFC event Multiple arrests made in ‘multi-state operation’ to disrupt alleged plot to kill government officials at Trump birthday Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Law enforcement officials disrupted an attempt to attack the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) cage fighting event staged at the White House on Sunday with guns and explosive-laden drones, and multiple people were in custody, federal US authorities said. The Department of Justice charged five men over an alleged plot to carry out an attack to kill government officials and others attendees at the “UFC Freedom 250” event on Sunday. The FBI made arrests over the weekend in Ohio, Missouri, Nebraska and California, it said, and an investigation remains ongoing. The five men “conspired to plan and execute a mass casualty event”, the justice department alleged, and “allegedly planned to deploy drones armed with explosives” in and around the White House event. They “planned to deploy snipers to fire upon ‘high value targets’ within the fleeing crowd”, the department alleged. The men were identified as Tycen C Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio; Bryan Omar Roa, 24, of Calimesa, California; Michael Alan Thomas, 32, of Pinon Hills, California; Daniel K Eskridge, 32, of Kidder, Missouri; and Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, of Omaha, Nebraska. “While the result represented the best of investigative work, it was also nothing out of the ordinary for this law enforcement team – we are built to detect, respond to, and bring to justice those who threaten the lives of American citizens – particularly during large gatherings like the historic UFC 250 fight,” said FBI director Kash Patel. “That’s exactly what we did here.” Federal court records in Cincinnati, Ohio, that were reviewed by the Guardian identified Proper as one of the arrested suspects. Proper’s mother called the police on 10 June to report concerns about her son’s behavior, his purchase of firearms, and communications with individuals online, those court records said. According to a federal criminal complaint filed against him, Proper said he had been in contact with individuals online since March. His mother said they claimed to be ex-military and Christian-based. Local police then had Proper admitted to a hospital for homicidal ideation, and they contacted the FBI. In an interview with a case worker who was present, Proper told authorities that members of the group online believed the US was headed in the wrong direction. Proper also said that some did not want people involved with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – a former friend of Donald Trump – running the country. Proper allegedly said he and others planned to first hold a demons