The
U.S. Justice Department released the below information and photos:
The
Justice Department announced today charges against five men for an alleged plot
to carry out an attack to kill government officials and others attending the
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Freedom 250 event held at the White House
last Sunday.
The FBI launched an investigation into the plot and identified a
group of conspirators who procured weapons and made plans to carry out the
attack. The FBI made arrests over the weekend in Ohio, Missouri, Nebraska, and
California. The investigation remains ongoing.
“The FBI, our law enforcement partners and our U.S. Attorneys
did what they do every day to make America Safe through quick response and
vigilance in investigating, disrupting, and dismantling this alleged plan
before it could be carried out,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “We
will take immediate and aggressive action to identify and prosecute those who
incite and plan acts of violence.”
“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,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “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.”
“Protecting the President of the United States and the White
House grounds is priority number one for the U.S. Secret Service,” said
Director Sean M Curran of the U.S. Secret Service. “The landscape has changed,
and as a result we have seen a dramatic rise in threats against our protectees.
I am proud of the men and women of the Secret Service that vigorously monitor,
investigate, and arrest those that plot to interfere with our protective
mission. We are grateful for our extraordinary partnerships we share with
DHS, DOJ, Acting Attorney General Blanche, FBI-JTTF, Park Police, and DC
Police.”
According to the charges, Tycen C. Proper (seen in the above photo) , 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, conspired to plan and
execute a mass casualty event targeting U.S. officials in attendance at UFC
Freedom 250 hosted on the White House grounds. The conspirators allegedly
planned to deploy drones armed with explosives in and around the UFC Freedom
250 event in order to force an evacuation of the event and then planned to
deploy snipers to fire upon “high value targets” within the fleeing crowd.
Tycen Proper
According to filed complaints in the Southern District of Ohio,
the Western District of Missouri, the District of Nebraska, and the Central
District of California, investigators interviewed Proper at a medical facility
on June 11. During the interview, he allegedly said he had planned with others
a coordinated attack against the U.S. government during the UFC event at the
White House. He said members of the group who wanted to participate in the
attack began communicating with each other around March. More serious members
of the group, including Proper, moved their communications to an encrypted chat
app. They planned to fly small drones with explosives to detonate over the
north side of the UFC arena, forcing high value targets to evacuate the
premises; the group would then act as snipers and shoot these individuals.
Before executing the plan, Proper and other conspirators allegedly planned to
rendezvous in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Screenshot of messages
and maps on Proper’s phone, from the complaint filed in the Central District of
California.
Screenshot of messages
and maps on Proper’s phone, from the complaint filed in the Central District of
California.
Proper allegedly amassed firearms, thousands of rounds of
ammunition, and tactical gear at his home in Ohio, and he identified potential
targets, including multiple members of Congress.
A photo of Proper’s
gun, from the complaint filed in the Central District of California.
Bryan Roa
According to the complaint filed in the Central District of
California, law enforcement executed a search warrant of Roa’s residence and
vehicle where they allegedly seized a rifle, handgun, tactical belt, ammunition
and a rifle magazine, a two-way radio, and an infrared laser target pointer. A
search of Roa’s phone allegedly found messages in a group with Thomas, Proper,
and others discussing an attack at the UFC event at the White House, with some
users discussing using drones rigged with explosives to initiate the attack,
with rooftop snipers killing individuals. Law enforcement also allegedly found
Instagram videos Roa had posted of himself shooting guns.
Roa’s Instagram post
of him shooting guns, from the complaint filed in the Central District of
California.
Michael Thomas
According to the complaint filed in the Central District of
California, Thomas allegedly participated in a group chat planning an attack at
the UFC event at the White House. In a group chat, on June 7, he allegedly
wrote “$1300 gets us the drones and the charges. Yes we should all pitch in and
we need it asap…”
In another group chat, Thomas, under a pseudonym, allegedly
described “tiers” of operators within their anti-government group, with tier 1
being operators on the ground, tier 2 being drivers and drone operators, tier 3
being logistical suppliers, and tier 4 being social media influencers. “Tier
one status is not something to take lightly. … We will make sure they have…All
the tier 2 support we can provide. We will try to break them out of jail if we
need to.” In the same group chats, Thomas discussed meeting with Roa in person
in Southern California in order to conduct “marksmen training” and reflected
that the group needed to train for “gorilla style warfare.”
In a June 13 search warrant, FBI agents allegedly seized from
Thomas’ residence a rifle, 30-round extended magazines for the rifle, 180 of
rounds of ammunition, and a pistol.
Daniel Eskridge
Eskridge was charged with conspiracy to commit murder on White
House grounds. According to an affidavit filed in the Western District of
Missouri, the FBI identified Eskridge while reviewing electronic communications
on Proper’s cell phone. The co-conspirators had electronic chats on
encrypted social media platforms. In those chats, members of the group
allegedly discussed assassinating several U.S. Senators, Representatives, and
prominent business executives. Members of the group targeted some
legislators based on the group’s perceived belief that the legislators accepted
money from pro-Israel lobbies. When discussing potential targets, Eskridge
indicated that the target was “big and someone a majority of the country
knows.” In the discussions, power grids were also identified as potential
targets. On May 22, Eskridge distributed a picture of tactical equipment,
including a rifle, helmet, and ballistic vest. The photograph is below.
Photo of tactical
equipment from Eskridge, from the affidavit filed in the Western District of
Missouri.
Also according to the affidavit, in a separate chat group, a
conversation took place in early June when Eskridge and some of the other chat
group members discussed their plan to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event.
Specifically, Thomas stated, “Pensilvania [sic] avenue.” Eskridge said the
group should obtain $1,300 in U.S. currency and they needed “5 teams of 3 each
team consisting of 1 sniper, 1 tier one operator as support/ look out, [and]
one drone operator.” Eskridge said the money would provide them the funding to
purchase “drones and charges,” and encouraged the group to all “pitch
in.” On June 13, law enforcement officials executed a federal search
warrant of Eskridge’s residence. Agents recovered rifles, a shot gun,
pistol, and other tactical gear.
A photograph of the equipment from the June 13 search is below:
Tactical gear
recovered by the FBI from a June 13 search of Eskridge’s residence, from the
affidavit filed in the Western District of Missouri.
Abraham Alvarez
According to the charges filed in Nebraska, the FBI identified
Alvarez as the individual using the name “Shepherd” in an encrypted chat app
that was used to plan an attack on the UFC Freedom 250 event scheduled to be
held at the White House on June 14. The FBI assessed that Alvarez, also known
as “Shepherd,” was responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the
planned attack, based on conversation excerpts in June when Shepherd posted,
“This is the best action I see. Position your teams in the purple dots (counter
sniper and drones) Long range (circled area) (great shot) Easy out into the
river.” Shepherd also allegedly posted other messages including replying to
another member on making drones with explosives, “As many and as deadly as we
can get.”; that he was working on drones; and had one drone and was working on
more.
The complaint further alleges that Shepherd provided a picture
and directions for a safe zone at an old church in Nebraska. He instructed the
other members to take back roads or the river down to the “pick up location.”
Later that same evening, Shepherd also provided locations in the area for drone
launch points and sniper positions.
Screenshot of a
church, sent by Alvarez, “Shepherd,” to encrpyted chat group, from the
complaint filed in the District of Nebraska.
If convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, each defendant
faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Conspiracy to
commit violence on White House grounds carries a maximum penalty of five years
in prison.
A criminal complaint merely contains
allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a
reasonable doubt in a court of law.
