By Staff

June 16, 2026 — Federal authorities announced Tuesday that five men have been charged in connection with an alleged conspiracy to carry out a mass-casualty attack targeting government officials and other attendees at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Freedom 250 event, held on the White House grounds last Sunday.

According to the Justice Department, the suspects—identified as Tycen C. Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio; 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—allegedly planned to use explosive-laden drones to force an evacuation of the event before using snipers to target “high-value” individuals, including members of Congress, in the ensuing chaos.

The FBI launched its investigation after becoming aware of the threat on June 10. Arrests were made over the weekend across multiple states, with weapons, ammunition, tactical gear, and encrypted communications seized as evidence. Officials, including Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, and U.S. Secret Service Director Sean M. Curran, credited swift interagency coordination with disrupting the plot before it could be executed.

The defendants face charges including conspiracy to commit murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. The investigation remains ongoing. Read the full release here.

The UFC event was a huge success with viewership expected to reach over one billion views.

At the post-fight press conference Dana White said Paramount was “thrilled” with the early reports, relaying to him that the event “succeeded all their expectations.”