The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says it thwarted “planned attacks” that targeted the UFC event at the White House on Sunday and that multiple people are in custody.
According to Al Jazeera, FBI Director Kash Patel said on Tuesday, June 16, that the agency first learned about the threat on June 10, days before the mixed martial arts event on the White House South Lawn celebrating US President Donald Trump’s birthday and marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
He wrote on X, “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.”
While the agency did not disclose the nature of the threat, Fox News Digital reported that the alleged plot involved using explosive-laden drones to hit buildings near the event, in a post that Patel linked to on X.
Twenty-three people were involved with the alleged plot, according to a report that also claimed the would-be attackers planned a “second wave” intended to storm the White House gates during the event.
The Fox News report claimed that an unspecified number of plotters planned to travel to Virginia on June 12–13 in preparation for the attack, as per Signal chats federal law enforcement officials obtained.
Five people were arrested from states including Ohio, Missouri and California.
