By Mary McCue Bell (The Washington Times)
The FBI said five people have been arrested in connection with a plot to target Sunday’s UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House with explosive-laden drones.
Investigators identified at least 23 people as potential co-conspirators, according to reports.
The plan called for using explosive drones to hit nearby buildings in downtown Washington to force an evacuation and turn the crowd toward a pre-staged sniper team, federal officials told Fox News Digital. A reported “second wave” would have then stormed the White House gate.
Approximately 4,300 VIPs, officials and active military members attended the live cageside fights for the historic UFC event on the South Lawn of the White House. An additional 85,000 fans gathered at the nearby White House Ellipse for the public viewing party, which fell on President Trump’s 80th birthday as well as part of the American Semiquincentennial celebrations.
“Thanks to the rapid action of this FBI, our partners, and the Department of Justice in a multistate operation, multiple individuals are now in custody and allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a social media statement.
The plot to attack the White House was first reported by Fox News Digital.
The FBI discovered the threat on Wednesday — four days before the event — and worked to secure probable cause to make an arrest in Cincinnati, where one suspect was taken into custody.
The plan reportedly called for using explosive drones to hit nearby buildings in downtown Washington to force an evacuation and turn the crowd toward a pre-staged sniper team. A reported “second wave” would have then stormed the White House gate.
Investigators learned via Signal chats of multiple suspects planning or discussing attacks on the UFC event. An initial review of one suspect’s iPhone reportedly led to the identification of at least 23 Signal users discussing preparations, including plans by conspirators to travel to Fredericksburg, Virginia, on Thursday or Friday.
One suspect reportedly told investigators the goal was to target “capitalist elites,” “billionaires” or politicians who received donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a powerful lobbying group dedicated to strengthening, promoting and expanding the bipartisan alliance between the U.S. and Israel.
The investigation spanned at least 12 FBI field offices outside of the National Capital Region.
Mr. Patel said that as “this work remains ongoing,” the FBI will “continue to update the public as permitted.
“While the result represented the best of investigative work, it was also nothing out of the ordinary for this law enforcement team,” he said in the statement on social media. “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. That’s exactly what we did here.”
This article was made available to WMAL via The Washington Times.
