Thwarted plot to to use drones, snipers to attack White House UFC event: FBI

Washington: The FBI on Tuesday said that it thwarted a planned attack on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event hosted on the White House lawn this weekend. Five people have also been taken into custody, as per court documents.

The alleged plan involved the use of explosive-laden drones to strike the north side of the White House with the aim of funneling attendees toward an exit where snipers planned to open fire, the FBI stated in court papers.

The event, which was attended by US President Donald Trump on his 80th birthday, was held to commemmorate the the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.

The court decuments revealed that the five people charged appeared to subscribe to anti-government conspiracy theories and were motivated in part by anger at the handling of investigative files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Authorities discovered the plot when the mother of one of the suspects, 19-year-old Tycen Proper, called local police in Ohio to report that her son had made several weapons purchases and was interacting with concerning people online. Proper later admitted to FBI agents that he was aware of a planned coordinated attack on the UFC event, according to an FBI affidavit.

"On June 10, FBI and our law enforcement partners became aware of a potential threat to the UFC America 250 event in Washington, D.C. involving individuals outside of the National Capital Region," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement posted on X.

At least three of the five taken into custody have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Other charges facing the group include conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and weapons offenses. The suspects have not yet entered pleas in court and attorney information was not immediately available.

Trump, at the Group of Seven summit in Evian, France, said he had not heard about the planned attack.

-With agency inputs from Reuters