The US Justice Department has charged at least five people in connection with an alleged plot targeting the Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the White House over the weekend, court records unveiled on Tuesday said.
The FBI learned about the plot on June 10, four days before the mixed martial arts event took place on the White House’s South Lawn to mark Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.
“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,” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote to X.
Law enforcement learned about the alleged plot after the mother of one of the accused first contacted local police, according to an FBI affidavit filed in the case.
The FBI then identified a group of conspirators who procured weapons and made detailed plans to carry out the attack.
The FBI said the investigation was ongoing and that it had so far made arrests in Ohio, Missouri, Nebraska, and California.
Court documents reveal plan to attack UFC event
One of the people accused is 19-year-old Tycen P., whose mother contacted law enforcement officials with concerns about his firearms purchases and online communications.
Tycen P. discussed with others a plan that called for flying explosives-laden drones and shooting panicked crowd members as they fled the White House.
The logistics were discussed via Signal, an app that uses end-to-end encryption for its messaging and calling services, through a primary chat of “approximately 19 individuals” and small side chats, authorities said.
After Tycen P. was arrested, he identified the usernames of people in encrypted chats, authorities said.
Members in chat groups had varying views ranging from anti-government sentiment to fury over the Trump administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files to conspiracy theories about a powerful elite that sacrifices and consumes children.
Messages obtained from Tycen P.’s phone show he focused on antisemitic grievances and identified by name several Republican lawmakers he said should be targeted because they were pro-Israel.
Trump says he was not briefed about alleged plotÂ
Trump, when asked about the alleged plot at the Group of Seven summit in France, told reporters that he had not heard about the attack.
“The attack I watched were the fighters,” he said, referring to the UFC participants.Â
Edited by:Â Wesley Dockery
*Editor’s note: DW follows the German press code, which stresses the importance of protecting the privacy of those involved in criminal proceedings.
