8 indicted in thwarted White House UFC attack plot
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- Eight men were indicted Thursday in Ohio on murder and terrorism conspiracy charges for a thwarted drone-and-sniper plot targeting the UFC Freedom 250 event staged at the White House in June.
- The indictment alleges two separate conspiracies — providing material support to terrorists and murdering a federal official on government territory — carrying maximum penalties of 15 years and life in prison, respectively.
- Federal prosecutors say the group planned to assassinate President Trump, VP Vance, Israeli PM Netanyahu, Elon Musk, and "other high-value targets," with one defendant telling investigators they planned to fly explosive-laden drones into the crowd and then shoot panicked attendees as they fled.
- The plot began in May with the group amassing money, firearms, ammunition, body armor, explosives, drones, and medical equipment; law enforcement learned of the threat on June 10, four days before the June 14 event.
- Tycen C. Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio was among five arrested the weekend of the event; Chandler D. Scaggs, 21, of Chapmanville, West Virginia — allegedly assigned as a sniper — became the eighth defendant charged this week after being taken into custody in his home state.
- The Justice Department previously announced charges against seven defendants from Ohio, Missouri, Washington, Nebraska, and California, saying the group harbored fringe conspiracy theories and hoped the attack would destabilize the government.
Why it matters: The eight defendants face up to life in prison if convicted on the murder conspiracy charge, and the indictment exposes a multi-state conspiracy spanning at least six states that allegedly aimed to kill a sitting president at his own residence using a combined drone-and-sniper playbook — a threat that was stopped just four days before the event.
