FBI says it disrupted planned attacks targeting White House UFC event

The FBI says it disrupted an alleged attack plot targeting the UFC event staged on the White House South Lawn, and newly unsealed court papers now describe how investigators say the plan may have been carried out.

Authorities said they first received intelligence about the threat on June 10, four days before the event. The FBI has said five people were arrested, and that the case involved suspects from multiple states.

What the filing says

According to the newly unsealed papers reported by the Associated Press, investigators say a larger group of roughly 20 people exchanged encrypted messages and discussed using explosives-laden drones and gunfire to attack people at the event. The filing also describes plans that would have created panic as attendees fled.

AP reported that the group used a TikTok chat called Vanguard of the Old and that investigators believe members expressed anti-government views and wanted the country torn down and rebuilt. The court papers also say one suspect, Tycen Proper, 19, admitted involvement in the plot.

The filing says the charges include attempted murder of a U.S. government employee. AP reported that the arrests included people from Ohio, Missouri and California.

Timeline and response

The FBI said it acted after getting the June 10 intelligence and before the event took place. Axios reported that FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency thwarted the plot and that five suspects were in custody.

The event itself, UFC Freedom 250, went ahead on the White House South Lawn during the Trump administration's semiquincentennial celebrations. The latest public filings add the first concrete allegations about how the threat may have been structured, but officials have not yet publicly laid out the full charging package for every suspect.

What remains open

Questions remain about how many of the roughly 20 people identified by investigators will ultimately be charged, what additional counts prosecutors may file and what parts of the alleged threat were independently corroborated beyond the court filing.

There is also still no public accounting of whether any federal or local agency changed security planning before the show. The U.S. Secret Service and Justice Department have not yet publicly filled in every detail of the response.

The case sits against a broader backdrop of concern about political violence around high-profile federal events. More details are expected as the full criminal complaint or indictment becomes public.