The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it had arrested and charged five men for an alleged plot to attack Sunday night’s UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House.According to the DOJ, the FBI identified a group that had collected weapons and made plans for an attack, and proceeded to arrest five men over the weekend in Ohio, Missouri, Nebraska, and California. The DOJ alleges that the men conspired to “plan and execute a mass casualty event” Sunday night by targeting U.S. officials in attendance at UFC Freedom 250. The alleged plotters planned to fly drones with explosives over the arena, then act as snipers and shoot “high value targets” as they fled the scene, authorities said.President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were among the politicians who attended the event, which was held on the White House South Lawn. The crowd also included business executives such as UFC CEO Dana White, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison.“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,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in the DOJ’s announcement.The five men arrested are Tycen C. Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio; Bryan Omar Roa, 24, of Calimesa, Calif.; Michael Alan Thomas, 32, of Pinon Hills, Calif.; Daniel K. Eskridge, 32, of Kidder, Mo.; and Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, of Omaha, Neb.They are charged with conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit violence on White House grounds. The investigation is ongoing. It was not immediately clear if the men had legal representation.In an interview with investigators on June 11, Proper allegedly said that he and other members of the group began communicating with each other around March. He and other more serious members of the group later moved their communications to an encrypted chat app. The DOJ said that Proper amassed firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and tactical gear at his home in Ohio. It also said that Proper identified potential targets, including multiple members of Congress. The group planned to meet in Fredericksburg, Va., before executing the plan.The DOJ’s announcement includes what it says are cellphone screenshots of communications planning the attack.In a news conference earlier Tuesday, Secret Service Director Sean Curran said his agency led the investigation from the beginning and called it an ongoing case.“In order to maintain the integrity of the investigation and the security plan, we chose not to leak it (before Freedom 250),” he said, later adding, “It was a serious threat. … We did a lot and were 100 percent confident that we knew locations, level of planning, level of response. The event itself, I am confident in saying, was never at risk.”Jun 17, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms