By Khaleda Rahman and Hannah Parry
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Five suspects have been named after being arrested for allegedly plotting an attack on Sunday’s UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House.
Bryan Omar Roa and Michael Alan Thomas were both arrested in California and have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Daniel Eskridge, 32, was arrested on June 13 at his home in Kidder, Missouri, while Abraham Alvarez was arrested on June 14 in Omaha, Nebraska.
All four men were identified by alleged co-conspirator Tycen Proper, 19, who was arrested in Ohio and faces four charges, including attempted murder of a federal officer and conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S., according to court filings.
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Newsweek has reached out to the Department of Justice via email for further comment.
In a statement posted on X, FBI Director Kash Patel said Tuesday the FBI learned about the possible threat on June 10, four days before the mixed-martial arts fight card on the White House’s South Lawn.
"Thanks to the rapid action of the 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,” Patel said.
Patel did not disclose the nature of the potential threat, but his post on X included a screenshot of a report from Fox News Digital that said the alleged plot involved using explosive-laden drones to hit buildings near the event.
The report, citing unnamed officials, also said alleged plotters planned to storm the White House gate. The report said five people were in custody and 23 were identified as part of a network of plotters.
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Roa and Thomas made their initial court appearances on Monday in Riverside, California. Roa's arraignment is scheduled on July 7 while Thomas' is scheduled for July 21.
Both men were identified to federal law enforcement by Proper, who was interviewed by the FBI on June 11 after his parents contacted local law enforcement, according to the FBI affidavit, reviewed by Newsweek.
Investigators recovered screenshots of plans, shared among a group of around 19 people on encrypted messaging services, which showed discussions of sniper locations and where explosive drones could be launched, alongside maps and photos of the White House and D.C., according to the legal filing.
When the FBI interviewed Proper's mother, she told them that her son had begun interacting online with a group called "Vanguard of Old" who claimed to be Christian and ex-military. She told investigators they "expressed ultra-religious and anti-government sentiments, specifically citing grievances about government corruption, the handling of the Epstein files, data centers taking up all the water in communities, and other government actions."
Knox County Sheriff's Office said it had also seized an arsenal of weapons, including an AR-style rifle, a bullpup rifle, and thousands of rounds of ammunition from Proper's family home, Fox 11 reports.
The FBI said that Thomas had admitted to his role in the plot when interviewed, describing himself as the group's planner and advisor.
"Thomas said that the aim of this and subsequent attacks was to create enough chaos to bring about the overthrow of the U.S. government. Thomas indicated that he believes that the U.S. government is run by an elite group of individuals who sacrifice and consume infants who also were deeply involved with Jeffery Epstein and are now protected by President Donald Trump," according to a second complaint, reviewed by Newsweek.
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Authorities also said the recovered a message from Thomas discussing different tiers of people within their group. Including "Tier 1 operators" who "may be asked to put themselves in harms way, break the law, and potentially go into hiding."
Other tiers would include "get away drivers, drone operators, and direct support" or they could be part of the "Underground Railroad" or even "social media influencers, protesters, funders, press."
"Tier one status is not something to take lightly. You will be sacrificing for your country, and carrying a brunt of the weight. I want to make that clear that we will all sacrifice for tier one operators. We will make sure they have an escape plan, backup plan, transportation, three meals a dav and a 17 defense position to hide out. All the tier 2 support we can provide. We will try to break them out of jail if we need to," the message stated.
The FBI said that Thomas and Roa, who both lived in California, had been planning to meet in person ands train together. A search on Roa's home recovered a laser pointer, an AR-style rifle, a Glock 19 handgun, a two-way radio and multiple ammo.
The FBI also recovered messages between Proper and Eskridge, who faces a charge of conspiracy to commit murder, which they said showed them discussing targeting specific U.S. Senators at the UFC White House event.
In one message, Eskridge said that he planned to be "leading from the front as one of the 5 snipers." At Eskridge's home, authorities recovered multiple weapons including a shot gun, pistol, multiple rifles and tactical vests with ballistic plates, the documents show.
Alvarez, who faces charges of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and conspiracy to commit murder, was identified by federal authorities as the individual using the online username Shepard. Shephard had discussed with the group several targets for the attack, including President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Elon Musk.
Secret Service Director Sean Curran said in the days leading up to Sunday's event, his agency “worked around the clock to identify those responsible and hold them accountable.”
Curran added: "Equally important to our protective mission is ensuring accountability through the justice system. To that end, our formal comments regarding the specifics of this case will be made through court filings."
A spokesperson for the FBI directed Newsweek to Patel’s statement when contacted for comment: “We have nothing additional at this time.”
President Donald Trump celebrated his 80th birthday at the UFC event, which was tied to larger celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. First lady Melania Trump also attended, along with other members of the Trump family.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were also photographed in the audience, along with business leaders such as UFC CEO Dana White and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Who Is Tycen Proper? Man Accused in White House UFC Event Drone Plot
During an interview with investigators, Proper allegedly “admitted to planning with others a coordinated attack against the United States government during the UFC event scheduled to take place on the White House lawn in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, June 14, 2026,” according to an affidavit reviewed by Newsweek.
The affidavit states that law enforcement interviewed his mother, who said he had begun “interacting with a group online that was comprised of individuals who claimed to be ex-military and Christian-based.”
The unidentified group allegedly “expressed ultra-religious and antigovernment sentiment,” according to the affidavit.
Kash Patel's Statement
Patel wrote on X: “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.
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"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.
"We continue to encourage any American to report anything suspicious at 1-800-CALL-FBI or http://tips.fbi.gov.”
Trump Family Members Attend UFC
Many members of the president’s immediate family attended the UFC Freedom 250 event on Sunday, including:
- Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner
- Arabella Rose Kushner
- Eric Trump and wife Lara Trump
- Donald Trump Jr. and wife Bettina Anderson
- Tiffany Trump and husband Michael Boulos
- Barron Trump
- Kai Trump
- Carolina Trump
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This is a developing story. More to follow.
This story was updated with additional information at 2.30 p.m.
This story was updated with additional information at 3 p.m.
This story was updated with additional information at 3.45 p.m.
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