FBI director Kash Patel said Tuesday his agency disrupted an alleged terrorist attack threatening Sunday night’s UFC America 250 event at the White House.“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,” Patel said in a Tuesday post on X.News of the FBI foiling the attack plot was first reported by Fox News, which also reported that five individuals were in custody as of Monday and 23 people were identified by investigators to be part of the planning. Patel told Fox that the alleged group planned to use drones to hit buildings surrounding the South Lawn with explosives and then target attendees as they fled while another group of attackers stormed the White House. The Associated Press also reported five men were arrested. Charges are expected to be unsealed later Tuesday.
The FBI said it does not have any additional information to share beyond Patel’s statement and did not respond to a request for confirmation of the details Fox reported.The UFC did not respond to a request for comment and its CEO, Dana White, never mentioned the alleged plot in front of media during the lead-up to Sunday’s event.Secret Service Director Sean Curran addressed the situation Tuesday, saying the Secret Service worked closely with the FBI.“In the days leading up to this weekend, our special agents, mission support personnel, and technical security teams worked around the clock to identify those responsible and hold them accountable,” Curran said. “Equally important to our protective mission is ensuring accountability through the justice system.”The Secret Service did not respond to a request for comment or a clarification on how many days in advance their agency was aware of the plot.Federal court filings indicated UFC was prepared for a crowd of up to 120,000 to attend its events around Washington leading up to Sunday’s fights and, during the broadcast, Paramount + reported that about 85,000 were watching the fights from the Ellipse.For media, security for entry to the Ellipse consisted of walking through a metal detector and scanning belongings through an X-ray machine, and later having their credentials scanned at another entry point.Police officers walk through the crowd of fans at The Ellipse on Sunday during UFC Freedom 250. (Photo: Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images)Earlier in the week, media was given a tour of the octagon setup at the White House. Prior to entering the White House grounds, media was held outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building while Secret Service members searched their bags. During the tour, a Secret Service officer told a reporter to stop looking over a barricade at the surrounding construction, saying, “That’s not what we’re here for.”Fox reported that some of the alleged attackers planned to travel to Fredericksburg, Va., on June 12 or 13 to prepare for the attack. The news conference for Freedom 250 was held June 12 outside the Lincoln Memorial, and on June 13, a fan fest was held at the Ellipse preceding the weigh-ins.Vice President J.D. Vance appeared on “Fox & Friends” shortly after Patel’s post and said, “We got to tell everybody to tone it down.”Jun 16, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
