The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed that agents intercepted a planned attack targeting a mixed martial arts event, UFC, held on the White House lawn last weekend, attended by President Donald Trump. Authorities arrested five suspects accused of plotting to use explosive-laden drones to cause panic and herd attendees into sniper kill zones aimed at eliminating high-level targets.
Court documents state that the perpetrators systematically planned to use explosive drones to attack the White House’s north side, intending to create panic and force attendees to flee toward an exit gate where a sniper team awaited to ambush fleeing politicians and key figures. Additionally, a second assault team planned to breach the White House fence in a subsequent attack.
On the day of the event, President Donald Trump, who turned 80 that day, attended the special cage fight with Republican lawmakers, donors, and senior officials to celebrate the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. The event hosted over 4,300 invited guests, with approximately 85,000 spectators nearby. Fortunately, the event concluded without any violent incidents.
In simultaneous FBI raids across multiple states, five suspects were arrested: 19-year-old Tycen C. Proper in Ohio; 24-year-old Bryan Omar Roa in California; 32-year-old Michael Alan Thomas in California; 32-year-old Daniel K. Eskridge in Missouri; and 31-year-old Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez in Nebraska.
All suspects face serious charges of "conspiracy to commit murder," carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Prosecutors identified Alvarez as the main planner and drone system coordinator, while Thomas managed tasks across four levels, from frontline sacrificial roles to fundraising and online propaganda.
Documents reveal the group embraced anti-government conspiracy ideologies and religious extremism, partly motivated by anger over the handling of the "Jeffrey Epstein" child trafficking case, government corruption, and disputes over data centers monopolizing community water resources. They claimed their goal was to "destroy the United States in order to rebuild it" due to beliefs that the country was heading in the wrong direction.
Their assassination targets listed in encrypted messaging apps included President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, billionaire Elon Musk, and certain members of Congress believed to be funded by pro-Israel lobbyists.
The plot was uncovered after Tycen Proper’s mother called local Ohio police on 10 June, reporting her son's unusual purchase of numerous assault weapons and chats with individuals claiming to be former soldiers and religious extremists.
Investigations found the group began communicating in March through a TikTok group named "Vanguard of the Old" before vetting members to shift planning and distribute detailed strategic maps via the encrypted Signal app. The main chat included about 19 members, subdivided regionally. Fox News reported the entire network could involve up to 23 people.
FBI Director Chris Wray stated on social media that the attack plan was "successfully thwarted" through cooperation with law enforcement networks. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance told Fox News sharply, "Twenty-three people won't gather to commit sabotage in Washington, D.C., without serious funding and coordination. This isn’t just a few young men doing something reckless; it’s a well-organized terrorist plot."
Meanwhile, President Trump, attending the G7 summit in Évian, France, briefly told reporters, "I have not yet received any report on this matter."
Matt Quinn, Deputy Director of the U.S. Secret Service, acknowledged the plot as an extremely serious threat but declined to provide further details, expressing frustration over premature leaks of investigation information to the media.
Political experts noted that political violence in the U.S. increased by over 30% between 2024 and 2025. This incident occurred just two months after a shooting at a White House Correspondents’ Association event and one month after officers fatally shot a man who attempted to open fire at a White House security checkpoint. The court has scheduled the initial hearing for 29 June.