A federal grand jury in Columbus, Ohio, indicted eight men accused of plotting to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House and kill government officials, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Thursday.
Prosecutors allege that the men planned to target U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Elon Musk and other “high-value targets” at the June 14 event.
The two-count indictment consolidates earlier federal complaints filed in multiple districts and charges the defendants with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to commit murder on federal government property and murder a federal official. The charges replace the initial complaints filed in June.
According to prosecutors, the alleged plot began in May, when members of the group conspired to provide resources including firearms, ammunition, body armor, explosives, drones, medical supplies, communications equipment and personnel. Investigators said the group planned to use explosive-laden drones to force an evacuation of the venue before deploying snipers to attack fleeing attendees and targeted officials.
The FBI learned of a possible threat on June 10, four days before the event, and disrupted the alleged plot. Five defendants, including 19-year-old Tycen Proper of Ohio, were arrested during the weekend of the event. Two others were arrested the following week in Washington and Missouri.
The eighth defendant, Chandler Scaggs, 21, of Chapmanville, W.Va., was arrested this week, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors allege Scaggs planned to travel to Washington with Proper and was assigned to serve as one of the group’s snipers. After losing contact with Proper, he allegedly made new plans to attend the event.
The defendants, who range in age from 19 to 32, are from California, Nebraska, Missouri, Ohio, West Virginia and Washington. Authorities said the group promoted fringe conspiracy theories and sought to carry out an attack intended to destabilize the government.
Investigators said the group used online platforms including Signal, SimpleX, Discord, TikTok and Instagram to communicate, recruit members and plan attacks. Prosecutors said members organized themselves into a “tier system” based on their willingness to participate in violent activity, break the law and potentially go into hiding.
The material-support conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison, while the murder-conspiracy charge carries a potential life sentence.
