JUNE 16, 2026
FBI disrupts alleged drone and gunman plot targeting White House UFC event, five arrested
The FBI and Secret Service disrupted an alleged plot targeting the UFC Freedom 250 event held on the White House South Lawn on June 14, 2026, with multiple people taken into custody. FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrests on Tuesday, saying the FBI learned of the threat on June 10 and conducted a multi-state operation. Secret Service Director Sean Curran confirmed his agency worked "around the clock" with the FBI in the days leading up to the event.
Federal law enforcement officials announced Tuesday that they disrupted an alleged attack plot targeting the UFC Freedom 250 event held on the White House South Lawn on June 14, 2026, as part of President Donald Trump's 80th birthday weekend and the United States' 250th anniversary celebrations. Five people were arrested across multiple states, including Ohio, Missouri, and California, according to a law enforcement official who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
According to Fox News, which reported first on the story, the alleged plan involved using explosive-laden drones to strike buildings near the event, force a mass evacuation, and direct crowds toward a pre-staged sniper team. A "second wave" was then allegedly planned to storm the White House gate, Fox News reported, citing officials. CNN also reported that a federal law enforcement official described the alleged methods as attaching deadly payloads to drones to cause mass panic, as well as using a gunman to shoot at crowds.
Fox News identified one suspect as 19-year-old Tycen Proper of Cincinnati, who was named in a criminal complaint. According to the complaint cited by Fox News, Proper allegedly spent $3,000 of "graduation money" to purchase ammunition, firearms, and tactical gear, including an AR-style rifle and plate carriers. His family voluntarily surrendered the equipment to law enforcement. Two additional suspects, Bryan Omar Roa and Michael Alan Thomas, were arrested in California and charged with conspiracy to commit murder, Fox News reported; both appeared in court Monday in Riverside. Investigators uncovered Signal chats in which at least 23 users allegedly discussed pre-operational planning activity, according to Fox News. One suspect allegedly told investigators the goal was to target "capitalist elites," "billionaires," or politicians who received donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Fox News reported. Multiple sources told Fox News that all those in custody are American citizens and no foreign nexus was involved.