Prosecutors said a plot to unleash explosive drones and sniper fire at Sunday’s UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House was meant to “jump-start” a revolution by killing top American politicians, in part because of support for Israel.
According to charging documents, suspect Tycen Proper, a 19-year-old from Ohio, identified several Republican political targets in an encrypted group chat with ultra-religious, anti-government agitators because the lawmakers had received money from the powerful lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
The suspect faces charges of attempted murder of a federal officer, conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S. and weapons charges. Mr. Proper remains behind bars and is scheduled to appear in court again on Wednesday.
For at least three months before the attack, the filing said Mr. Proper spent $3,000 stockpiling weapons, ammunition and tactical gear and began working out to get in shape for the alleged terror attack.
He also helped plan the scheme that was going to use explosive-laden drones and sniper ambushes to disrupt Sunday’s mixed martial arts showcase on the White House’s South Lawn.
“The members of the group stated that they wanted to protect the United States, which they believed was headed in the wrong direction,” the charging documents read. “Members of the group believed that the United States needed to be torn down so that it could be rebuilt.”
Mr. Proper is the first suspect identified among the five arrested across the country in the alleged terror scheme. Authorities made the additional arrests in California, Missouri and Nebraska.
The FBI said 23 other co-conspirators are linked to the thwarted attack that intended to use kamikaze drones to force a mass evacuation at the UFC fight and allow snipers to open fire on the crowd. A second wave of attacks would have then hit the White House gate.
Mr. Proper in group chats specifically identified Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Republican, as a target because “She’s taken money from the … pro-Israel lobby and supports them,” and also named a quartet of West Virginia Republicans — Sens. Jim Justice and Shelly Moore Capito, and Reps. Carol Miller and Riley Moore — as targets because of their ties to AIPAC.
It’s unclear how many of those politicians attended Sunday’s historic cagefighting spectacle at the White House complex, which was also President Trump’s 80th birthday.
Mr. Trump was joined by Vice President J.D. Vance and several other Cabinet members, celebrities and active-duty service members in the 4,300-person crowd to watch the UFC fight card. Another 85,000 fans gathered on the White House Ellipse for a viewing party.
“Thanks to the rapid action of this FBI, our partners, and the Department of Justice in a multistate operation, multiple individuals are now in custody and allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement.
The filing said Mr. Proper’s parents first alerted Knox County authorities about their son’s behavior last Wednesday, four days before the alleged attack was going to be launched.
Mr. Proper’s parents told police the suspect quit his job and had been preparing to connect with people he met online who claimed to be ex-military and Christian radicals, according to court documents.
In online posts, the individuals expressed anti-government sentiments about corruption, opposed the handling of the Epstein files and blamed data centers for using up all the water in communities.
Mr. Proper’s mother noticed him looking at maps northwest of the District and frequently talking with the group members over the phone as well.
“When she asked Proper what he was doing, he said he couldn’t tell her exactly what he was doing, but that they were looking at multiple different locations and intended to conduct ’recon’ as well as ’hit and run missions,’” the filing stated. “Proper’s mother believed ’hit and run missions’ meant conducting shootings and then leaving.”
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office admitted Mr. Proper to a local hospital for homicidal ideations, the court documents said, and his family surrendered an AR-style rifle, a bullpup rifle, thousands of rounds of ammunition and armor plating to investigators.
Authorities said they also executed a search warrant on his phone, which turned up detailed maps of the D.C. area that included sniper locations, potential drone launch locations and other tactical notes for the alleged attack.
In an interview with the FBI, the affidavit said Mr. Proper admitted to planning an attack against the U.S. government. He further shared that he joined a TikTok group called “Vanguard of the Old,” and the suspect said he was one of the leaders of the group linked to the terror plot.
Group members were supposed to meet in Fredericksburg, Virginia, either the Friday or Saturday before the event, and Mr. Proper said some of the members were “intent on violence.”
The plan was to stage a protest on the north side of the White House while other members detonated small drones over the UFC fight stage, the court documents said. Mr. Proper told FBI agents that a crew of snipers would shoot at fleeing attendees and “high value targets” — such as wealthy people and politicians — as they exited the south side of the complex.
The group discussed potential escape routes along the Potomac River and even a possible safe house to hide out in after the attack, the filing said.
The investigation spanned at least 12 FBI field offices outside of the National Capital Region. Federal security was crawling all over the White House complex throughout the weekend, with blocked roads and wraparound fencing to create a hardened perimeter around the event.
Mr. Patel said that as “this work remains ongoing,” the FBI will “continue to update the public as permitted.
In a statement on social media, Secret Service Director Sean Curran said a team of special agents, mission support personnel and technical security teams “worked around the clock to identify those responsible and hold them accountable.”
“Equally important to our protective mission is ensuring accountability through the justice system,” he said
Mr. Trump, who flew to France to attend the annual G7 summit after the UFC fights, said Tuesday that he had not been briefed about the alleged plot.
“The attack I watched were the fighters,” he joked.
When asked why the president wasn’t briefed, the White House referred reporters to an X post by press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“President Trump and the entire administration are grateful to the @FBI, @ SecretService and every heroic member of law enforcement who works tirelessly to keep us safe,” she wrote. “Thanks to their efforts, UFC Freedom 250 will be remembered as one of the greatest sporting events in history.”
It was the latest in a string of threats aimed at Mr. Trump.
In April, a suspected gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ dinner with the president in attendance.
The suspect, Cole Thomas Allen, pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate the president.
In 2024, Mr. Trump faced two assassination attempts. A gunman opened fire during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, killing a Trump supporter.
Months later, a man aimed a rifle through bushes at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Mr. Trump was golfing. Secret Service spotted the gunman, Ryan Wesley Routh, and arrested him. Routh was convicted of trying to assassinate the president and sentenced to life in prison.
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