FBI Arrests Five Men Accused of Plotting Sniper and Drone Attack on White House UFC Event
Five men have been arrested across four US states in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate senior political figures using snipers and weaponised drones at a UFC event held on the White House grounds, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced on Tuesday.
The suspects — Tycen C. Proper, 19, of Ohio; Bryan Omar Roa, 24, and Michael Alan Thomas, 32, of California; Daniel K. Eskridge, 32, of Missouri; and Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, of Nebraska — face charges of conspiracy to commit murder, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Proper faces an additional charge of conspiracy to commit violence on White House grounds, punishable by up to five years in prison.
“Allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold,” FBI Director Kash Patel posted on social media, describing the investigation as a “multi-state operation.”
The group, which communicated through a TikTok channel called “Vanguard of the Old” or “Vanguard of the Old Republic,” had been coordinating since March, according to court documents. Their plans included distributing maps of Washington highlighting planned sniper positions, drone launch sites, and power grid targets.
The investigation was triggered on June 10 when Proper’s mother contacted authorities to report her son’s large firearms purchases and his online interactions with individuals who claimed to be former military members operating under a Christian-based ideology.
The intended targets, according to prosecutors, included President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and other elected officials. The group’s stated motivation was to “jumpstart a revolution by shooting high-value targets” — a phrase they used to describe wealthy individuals and politicians. Their grievances spanned government corruption, the handling of the Epstein files, and data centres “taking up all the water in communities,” court documents said.
The UFC event they allegedly planned to attack was an invite-only gathering of approximately 4,300 people on the White House South Lawn, with an additional 85,000 viewers watching remotely. The event was part of celebrations marking America’s 250th anniversary and coincided with President Trump’s 80th birthday.
The arrests come amid a period of heightened security concern around the White House. Two months before the alleged plot was uncovered, a shooting occurred at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which Trump attended. A month later, a man was killed by Secret Service at a White House checkpoint.
A preliminary hearing for the five suspects is scheduled for June 29.
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