Planned Attack on White House UFC Show Thwarted by Law Enforcement
Law enforcement officials successfully halted a planned attack targeting the UFC cage-fighting event held at the White House last weekend. According to court documents unsealed on Tuesday, disgruntled individuals unhappy with the country’s direction plotted to use drones loaded with explosives and shoot at the crowd as they attempted to escape.
The FBI intercepted encrypted text messages involving around 20 individuals who exchanged maps of the area and discussed hideouts and escape routes following the attack. The court documents did not clarify how close the attackers were to executing their plan before being stopped the previous week.
On June 10, four days before the event at the White House’s South Lawn, the FBI learned of the potential threat. The rapid response by the FBI, in collaboration with other partners and the Department of Justice, resulted in multiple arrests and prevented the planned attacks. This was confirmed by FBI Director Kash Patel in a statement released on Tuesday.
Five arrests were made in different states, including Ohio, Missouri, and California, as informed by a law enforcement official who spoke anonymously. One of the individuals arrested was Tycen Proper, a 19-year-old from Ohio. Proper’s mother had alerted local law enforcement about her concerns regarding his firearms purchases and online activities. Proper faces charges, including offenses related to firearms and attempted murder of a U.S. officer or employee.
In a hearing on Monday in Columbus, Proper admitted to participating in the attack’s planning. He revealed that the group, communicating via a TikTok group called “Vanguard of the Old,” intended to “protect” the United States, which they believed was on the wrong path. They discussed dismantling the country to rebuild it, expressing opposition to governance by individuals associated with Jeffrey Epstein.
The group coordinated the attack logistics using Signal, an encrypted messaging app. Messages from Proper’s phone revealed discussions about targeting lawmakers supportive of Israel. Proper planned to travel with weapons and body armor to a Fredericksburg, Virginia, meetup. He stated he had no intention to shoot but acknowledged others in the group did. The plan involved using drones over the north side of the White House to force evacuation into sniper fire, aiming to trigger a revolution.
President Donald Trump, who attended the UFC event at the White House, was at the Group of Seven summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, at the time. Speaking to reporters, Trump mentioned he had not been briefed about the thwarted plot. The president was friends with Epstein years ago but stated he severed ties long before Epstein’s crimes were publicized. Epstein took his own life in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.