Federal authorities have detained eight people in connection with an alleged conspiracy to assassinate President Donald Trump during the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House on June 14, according to court documents reviewed by The Guardian. At least 19 people were involved in the plot, which called for explosives-laden drones, sniper fire, and a second wave of attackers to enter the White House, the documents state.
The group connected online through TikTok before moving to encrypted messaging apps Signal and SimpleX, where they sorted themselves into tiers based on risk tolerance, investigators said. Some members met in person for tactical training. The alleged plot was foiled before any of the suspects reached Washington, according to the FBI.
Among those charged is Tycen Proper, 19, of Ohio, whose parents told police they were scared of what their son was planning, according to an affidavit. Proper quit his job and used graduation money to purchase a rifle, shotgun, body armor and ammunition. His mother said he had become more religious and had fallen in with an online group that “expressed ultra-religious and anti-government sentiments,” the affidavit states.
Another alleged ringleader, Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, according to court records. Alvarez is accused of sharing a screenshot listing potential targets, including designations that the FBI believes corresponded to Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Elon Musk. Michael Alan Thomas, 32, allegedly told others he believed the U.S. government was run by an elite group that sacrificed infants and was protected by Trump, and that Jewish people bore responsibility for the war with Iran, according to an affidavit.
Court documents show Proper wrote in a diary that the government sought to control people and sacrifice children to a demonic figure. The plotters used language about “shepherds” and “lions’ dens” and described the planned attack as “a fucking bloodbath,” according to records.
Matthew D Taylor, a scholar of Christian nationalism, said the conspiracy reflects an ideological civil war within the far right. “We’re seeing a very aggressive ideological civil war going on in the far right,” Taylor said, noting that one faction closely aligned with the Trump administration supports the state of Israel, while another, anti-interventionist faction feels betrayed by Trump’s alliance with Israel, particularly the war with Iran.
Vice President JD Vance last week described the plot as “not that advanced,” saying “they had not really done that much planning.”
Michael Edison Hayden, an extremism analyst, said the plotters are “anti-government, and the government happens to be run by Republicans,” and described their views as antisemitic and accelerationist.
Taylor said he would not consider the group particularly unique. “If anything, there are a lot — maybe thousands — of young men around the country who are being drawn into similar communities, similar arguments, similar ideas,” he said. He noted that the plot was stopped largely because Proper’s parents alerted authorities, calling that “a pretty thin branch to be relying on.”