Eight men were indicted Thursday on murder and terrorism conspiracy charges for their alleged roles in a thwarted drone and sniper attack on the UFC cage-fighting show staged at the White House in June. The indictment, returned in Columbus, Ohio, charges all eight defendants in two separate conspiracies: one to provide material support to terrorists and a second to commit murder on federal government territory and to murder a federal government official.
According to the indictment, the plot began in May when the group started amassing money, firearms, ammunition, body armor, explosives, drones, medical equipment, communications equipment and other items. On June 10, law enforcement officials learned about a possible threat to the Ultimate Fighting Championship event called Freedom 250, four days before the mixed martial arts extravaganza scheduled for the White House South Lawn. One of the defendants told investigators that they planned to fly explosive-laden drones into the event and then shoot panicked crowd members as they fled.
The first five defendants were arrested and charged in multiple states the weekend of the UFC event. Tycen C. Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio, was taken into custody after his mother contacted law enforcement expressing concerns about his firearms purchases and online communications. Along with Proper, four others were arrested: Bryan Omar Roa, 24, of Calimesa, California; Michael Alan Thomas, 32, of Pinon Hills, California; Daniel K. Eskridge, 32, of Kidder, Missouri; and Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, of Omaha, Nebraska.
According to court documents, Proper had been communicating with others through a TikTok group called “Vanguard of the Old” starting in March, with members saying they wanted to protect the United States and believed the nation was headed in the wrong direction. Communications among the group members continued on the encrypted messaging app Signal, where the FBI said they planned the attack. Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez was identified as the individual using the online moniker “Shepherd” in encrypted chats. According to court documents, Alvarez operated as a key organizer of the plot, directing staging locations, sniper and drone positions, escape routes and communications protocols.
The conspirators allegedly planned to deploy drones armed with explosives around the UFC event to force an evacuation and then deploy snipers to fire upon “high value targets” within the fleeing crowd. According to court documents, some suspects identified these high-value targets as wealthy people and politicians, while messages from Proper’s phone indicated they hoped to target certain lawmakers because of their support for Israel.
Two more defendants were charged and arrested by the FBI about a week later. William Lee Spartacus Falkner of Belfair, Washington, was arrested on June 19 and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. According to an FBI affidavit, Falkner had expertise in drones and discussed loading explosives onto them, claiming he was capable of flying up to 40 drones simultaneously. The second additional defendant was Jordan W. Rincker, 28, of St. Joseph, Missouri, arrested on June 21 and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Court documents alleged that Rincker accepted $1,200 in cash from Alvarez to distribute to other co-conspirators and provided weapons and equipment to others involved in the plot.
The eighth defendant, Chandler D. Scaggs, 21, of Chapmanville, West Virginia, was charged this week and taken into custody in that state. According to an affidavit, Scaggs was allegedly assigned to be one of the snipers in the plotted attack. Scaggs was apparently to be picked up by Proper and taken to Washington, but lost contact with Proper after he was arrested.
Throughout their communications, some of the alleged conspirators discussed various motivations for the planned attack. Court documents indicate they expressed grievances about government corruption, the handling of Jeffrey Epstein files, and data centers. Some suspects espoused fringe conspiracy theories and made antisemitic remarks. One individual told investigators that the broader objective of the conspiracy was to create enough chaos to contribute to the overthrow of the United States government, with one suspect telling investigators the goal was to “jumpstart” a revolution.
It remains unclear from court records how close the would-be attackers could have come to actually carrying out the plan had it not been thwarted. Some of the suspects or co-conspirators who were questioned by authorities said they did not intend themselves to carry out violence but planned to instead observe others. Though participants spoke of using drones rigged with explosives, court documents suggest they were still in the research and discussion phases when the plot was interrupted.
Law enforcement officials learned of the threat because Proper’s mother had reached out with concerns. The FBI launched a multi-state investigation involving at least 12 FBI field offices. Investigators identified roughly 20 participants in encrypted messaging chats who shared detailed maps of the area and discussed escape routes and safe houses. The Secret Service worked closely with the FBI throughout the investigation, and there was an enormous visible law enforcement presence at the White House during the event. The UFC fight proceeded without disruption, and no injuries were reported.