What is known about the plan to attack the White House during the UFC event

The event took place last Sunday (14/06), when President Donald Trump was celebrating his 80th birthday
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The FBI foiled a plan that targeted the UFC event held last Sunday (14/06), at the White House, and arrested five men, the United States Department of Justice reported on Tuesday (16).
According to prosecutors, part of the plan involved attacking nearby buildings with drones loaded with explosives and firing at "high-rise targets." value."
One of the suspects was arrested last week in Ohio, where investigators analyzed encrypted messages involving other alleged conspirators. According to court documents, they expressed "ultra-religious and anti-government sentiments."
"The alleged planned actions were completely neutralized," FBI director Kash Patel wrote on social media commenting on the "multi-state operation." Bryan Omar Roa, 24 years old; Michael Alan Thomas, 32, both of California; Daniel K. Eskridge, 32, of Missouri; and Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, of Nebraska.
They were arrested in four different states and were all charged with conspiracy to commit murder, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
According to court documents, the group intended to use drones to cause panic and direct the fleeing crowd to areas where snipers were positioned.
Then, a "second wave" of attackers was expected to advance against the gates of the White House.
The event took place last Sunday (14/06), when President Donald Trump celebrated his 80th birthday
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It is estimated that around 4,300 people participated in the invitation-only event held on the South Lawn of the White House, while another 85,000 watched the fights in the surrounding area.
Documents related to Alvarez indicate that the group had considered as possible targets US President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, businessman Elon Musk and several elected politicians - although not all of them were present at the event.
The investigation began after Proper's mother contacted local authorities on June 10, a few days before the event. She expressed concern about her son's purchases of large weapons and his online communications with a group that presented itself as made up of former military personnel and people of Christian orientation.
According to prosecutors, the group intended to "start" a revolution by attacking "high-value targets", defined as politicians and wealthy people present at the UFC event.
They also discussed alleged grievances related to government corruption, the handling of Jeffrey Epstein's files, water consumption by data centers, and other government actions.
An FBI document states that members of the group said they wanted to "protect the United States," believing that the country was heading in the wrong direction.
"Members believed that the United States needed to be destroyed so that it could be rebuilt," the document states.
During an FBI interrogation on June 11, Proper admitted participation in planning the attack. According to him, members began communicating around March through a group on TikTok called "Vanguard of the Old", also referred to in some documents as "Vanguard of the Old Republic", in Portuguese.
It is unclear whether the group has ties to any larger organization already established. However, Proper told authorities that the majority of members were recruited by TikTok.
Members approved by the group then started using Signal, an encrypted messaging app. According to prosecutors, there was a main group with around 19 participants and other smaller groups, organized according to functions or geographic location.
Thomas would have designed an operation structured in four levels, from an elite group that would be responsible for "sacrificing themselves for the country" and taking the greatest risks, including violating the law and going underground, to a fourth, less active level, which would be made up of financiers, influencers and supporters.
The documents also describe conversations in which members discussed the murder of American congressmen and executives of large companies. Some lawmakers were reportedly chosen due to the group's belief that they received resources from pro-Israel lobby groups.
Eskridge reportedly described one of the targets as someone "important and known to most of the country."
The Department of Justice claims that Alvarez was responsible for planning, organizing and coordinating the attack on the UFC event, in addition to working with the drones that would be used.
The suspects also shared maps of Washington indicating planned sniper positions, drone launch points and even electrical grids considered possible targets. Images attached to the process show posts on social media with tactical equipment, weapons and maps.
According to the complaint against Proper, he stated that he did not intend to participate in the protest to shoot people, but that several other members of the group were determined to use violence.
The BBC sought out Proper's lawyer.
In a press conference unrelated to the case, held on Tuesday (16/06), the deputy director of the Secret Service, Matt Quinn, classified the episode as a "threat serious", but avoided providing additional details due to the progress of the investigation.
Quinn also expressed irritation with the fact that the operation had been publicly disclosed. "I learned an expression early in my career in New York: 'Don't choke on your own smoke,'" he said.
"To preserve the integrity of the investigation and security plan, we chose not to release information too soon," he added.
When asked about the alleged plan during the G7 summit in France, President Trump responded, "I haven't heard about it."
If convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, suspects could face a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $$ fine. 250 thousand, according to the Department of Justice.
Proper also faces three other charges, including conspiracy to commit violent acts on White House premises, a crime for which the maximum penalty is five years in prison. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for June 29.
The event took place last Sunday (14/06), when President Donald Trump celebrated his 80th birthday
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On Sunday, as part of the celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States, the White House hosted a series of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fights in an outdoor arena known as "The Claw".
The event coincided with Donald's 80th birthday Trump and occurred two months after a shooting during the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, which he attended, and a month after a man was killed by Secret Service agents after opening fire at a White House checkpoint.
Political violence has been on the rise in the United States, Erica Frantz, professor of Political Science at Michigan State University, told the BBC. According to her, this phenomenon tends to be cyclical, as one act of violence often stimulates others.
Data from the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) indicate that violence directed at specific targets grew by more than 30% between 2024 and 2025 in the USA.
"There will always be dissatisfied people who defend conspiracy theories and extremist views that, together, don't make much sense," said Frantz.
"I care less about specific motivation and more about the social forces that are pushing people toward increasingly radical positions."
With additional information from Nardine Saad.
READ ALSO: Trump celebrates 80th birthday with Octagon and UFC fights at the White House

Source: G1