Terror plot targeting White House foiled ahead of UFC event

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, June 16, 2026

The FBI has announced that a terror plot targeting the Ultimate Fighting Championship event held at the White House over the weekend was foiled before the event.

In a statement on X Tuesday, FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the FBI and its law enforcement partners "became aware of a potential threat to the UFC America 250 event in Washington, D.C." on June 10. 

The threat involved individuals outside of the National Capital Region.

"[T]hanks 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. 

“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."

A criminal complaint filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio alleges that Tycen Proper, 19, of Knox County, Ohio, engaged in conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, attempted murder of an officer or employee of the United States, possessed a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and received or transfered a firearm used to commit a felony. 

Local law enforcement first became aware of the threat following a Wednesday night call from Proper’s mother expressing concern about his “firearms purchases and communicating with certain individuals online.”

Upon arriving at the suspect’s house, Proper’s father informed law enforcement that Proper had “recently acquired camping gear, food, ballistic plates, a new shotgun, a rifle, ‘lots’ of ammunition, extra magazines, and plate camera” and planned to meet up with his online friends the following weekend. 

Proper’s father was also concerned about his son spending $3,000 of his graduation money on materials and quitting his job in preparation to engage in “missions” and “recons” with his new friends. Local authorities also found several boxes of ammunition, estimated to be in the thousands of rounds, along with "two plate carriers with AR-style magazines, an AR-style rifle, and a bullpup rifle painted with an American flag." This discovery prompted local officials to contact the FBI. 

Testimony from Proper’s mother revealed that her son had begun “interacting with a group online that was comprised of individuals who claimed to be ex-military and Christian-based” with a particular focus on “grievances about government corruption, the handling of the Epstein files, [and] data centers taking up all the water in communities.”

She described the group as “ultra-religious” and “anti-government,” maintaining that the group caused her son to “lean heavily into his religion” and may have used “religion to manipulate and influence” him. 

A search warrant of Proper’s iPhone uncovered plans to conduct an attack in Washington, D.C. In an interview with law enforcement, Proper admitted his intention to carry out an attack against the U.S. government at the UFC event. 

The plan involved members of the group flying drones attached to explosive devices over the north side of the UFC arena to force spectators to evacuate to the south. From there, members of the group would shoot members of the crowd in what they hoped would “jumpstart” a revolution in the U.S. 

Proper identified West Virginia’s entire congressional delegation, all Republicans, as the specific targets of the attack in a group chat last month. They include Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice, as well as Reps. Carol Miller and Riley Moore.

Four images of these members of Congress were likely taken from the website TrackAIPAC.com and appear to include information about how much money each member of Congress received "from pro-Israel PACs," the complaint states. 

Proper’s family members had noted to law enforcement that the teenager had made “sympathetic comments about Adolf Hitler” and posted “anti-Semitic comments on Facebook.” News of Proper’s arrest and the targeting of the UFC event come as political violence has loomed large in the U.S.

Just two months ago, the White House Correspondents Association Dinner was evacuated and canceled after shots rang out as law enforcement intercepted a would-be presidential assassin. The shooting marks the third assassination attempt against Trump in the past two years. Trump had a bullet graze his ear as he held a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, while two months later, Ryan Wesley Routh targeted the president as he played on his Florida golf course.