FBI Foils Explosive Drone/Sniper Plot Targeting UFC Event At White House

The FBI has apprehended multiple individuals in connection to a purported plot that targeted Sunday’s UFC event at the White House.

FBI Director Kash Patel announced the operation Tuesday:

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 – and thanks to the rapid action of this FBI, our partners, and the Department of Justice in a multi-state operation, multiple individuals are now in custody and allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold.

While the result represented the best of investigative work, it was also nothing out of the ordinary for this law enforcement team – we are built to detect, respond to, and bring to justice those who threaten the lives of American citizens – particularly during large gatherings like the historic UFC 250 fight. That’s exactly what we did here. I want to thank our great agents and partners, this work remains ongoing and we will continue to update the public as permitted.

An affidavit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio alleged 19-year-old Tycen Proper admitted to be planning a coordinated attack against the White House UFC event. The plot was discovered through Proper.

Interestingly, that court filing lists a number of key hot-button current issues as the suspect’s purported interests, including Israel, AIPAC, Epstein, data centers and Christianity.

According to media outlet Business Insider in 2013, the FBI recruits potential terrorists, provides them with plans and weapons, then arrests them.

“The Federal Bureau of Investigation has busted an impressive number of homegrown terror plots over the past decade, but many people don’t realize how these plots materialize. In some cases, they are hatched not from a cave-dwelling fanatic, but actually from the Bureau itself,” Business Insider said in 2013. “Ever since 9/11, the task of thwarting terrorist plots has consumed the majority of the FBI’s budget — $3.3 billion compared to $2.6 billion for organized crime, according to a report written for Mother Jones by Trevor Aaronson, author of The Terror Factory.The once exclusively investigative bureau has morphed into a counterterrorism agency, with field agents tapping into a nationwide network of informants that infiltrate mainly-Muslim communities. The FBI targets the ‘disgruntled few’ who would participate in a terrorist plot if given the opportunity, according to Aaronson. In many cases, the FBI recruits potential terrorists and provides them with plans, equipment, and weapons — before finally shutting them down and getting credit for thwarting another attack.”

Axios detailed Sunday’s incident:

• Members of the group allegedly planned to leave their homes and travel to Fredericksburg, Virginia, which is roughly 50 miles outside the district, per the criminal complaint. 
• An FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force officer alleged in the complaint that Proper told agents the group planned to fly small, explosive-laden drones to detonate over the arena, forcing an evacuation toward staged snipers. 
• The attack was designed to “jumpstart” a revolution, Proper allegedly said.
• Proper allegedly named Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) as a “possible target,” and sent photos of Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Rep. Carol Miller (R-W.Va.) and Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.) that “appear to have been taken from the website “TrackAIPAC.com,” per the complaint, and appear to include information about how much money they received “from pro-Israel PACS.”