Chilling photos reveal twisted plot by 19-year-old 'mastermind' to wreak havoc on Trump's UFC fight

By JON MICHAEL RAASCH, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT Published: 19:48, 16 June 2026 | Updated: 19:59, 16 June 2026 At least five people, including a teenager, have been charged for allegedly planning a mass casualty event at the White House UFC event on Sunday.  The FBI announced it had infiltrated an encrypted Signal group chat with individuals planning an attack on the White House UFC bout using drones and snipers.  Tycen Proper, a 19-year-old from Knox County, Ohio, was charged with four offenses, according to a federal affidavit. His mother called the police on him after becoming increasingly worried about his behavior and online relationships.  His offenses include conspiracy to commit crimes against the US; attempted murder of an officer or employee of the United States; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; and receipt or transfer of a firearm used to commit a felony. On two charges, the 19-year-old faces up to life in prison if convicted. He was ordered to remain in custody ahead of a Wednesday hearing.   Four others have also been charged: Daniel Eskridge of Missouri, Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez of Nebraska and Bryan Omar Roa and Michael Alan Thomas of California.  According to the affidavit, Proper's parents became concerned about their son's online activity, expressing concern with his growing 'ultra-religious and antigovernment sentiment.' Proper recently quit his job to prepare for 'missions' and 'recons,' but he did not elaborate on specifics concerning his father. Proper also spent thousands of dollars of graduation money on guns, magazines, ammunition and plate carriers.  Franklin County Sheriff's Department Booking photo of Tycen Proper, 19, who is charged with planning a mass casualty event using explosive drones and sniper teams. He was in an encrypted group chat of 23 people who discussed specifics and mapped out the attack President Donald Trump stands with First Lady Melania, daughter Ivanka, UFC president Dana White (L) and his wife Anna Stella White (M-L) in the octagon during UFC Freedom 250 at White House South Lawn. According to the affidavit, the group's plan to target the UFC fight was carefully orchestrated to maximize confusion and present the gunman with opportunities to target Trump administration officials and billionaires - what he considered 'HVTs,' high value targets. First, they allegedly planned to stir up trouble at the White House's north gate and cause a protest.  Then they allegedly planned to fly explosive-laden drones toward the South Lawn where the UFC octagon was located and detonate them above the crowd.  This would cause the startled crowd to flee south, towards prepositioned sniper teams ready to pick off HVTs, according to the court document. The group had planned several sniper nests and drone launch locations.  The feds allege Proper purchased a bullpup shotgun on June 5 as the plans were being developed. He also had an AR-15-style rifle, body armor and an arsenal of ammunition.  Proper mused about targeting Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, noting on his phone how 'she's taken money from the Israel pro Israel lobby.'  The White House event drew around 4,300 attendees, including President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and countless other top Cabinet officials.  Speaking at the G7 in France, Trump said he had not been told about the plot.  Ryan Boa of California was arrested by authorities in California Michael Thomas was also arrested by authorities in California in connection with the UFC White House massacre plot President Trump's family came to celebrate their father's 80th birthday, which was on Sunday Ivanka Trump at the White House UFC event  Proper and his co-conspirators said they wanted to target billionaires, officials have said. Above Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is seen chatting with Trump  'I haven't heard about it, no,' the President said. 'The attack I watched were the fighters,' he quipped, eliciting laughs from the room.  Just outside of the White House on the National Mall, thousands of people were in the area watching the UFC fights. June is a popular time for tourists to come to Washington, too, and America 250 events have drawn large crowds to the city.  Officials said the FBI was first tipped off to the scary plot on June 10 and worked with law enforcement to find probable cause for an arrest. One suspect was taken into custody in Cincinnati, according to officials.  The plotters allegedly discussed their plans in encrypted Signal chats, which investigators later accessed.  Officials said that at least 23 Signal users were involved in discussing the alleged plan, including operational details on how to carry it out.  Some of those in the chat went so far as to travel to Fredericksburg, Virginia, around June 12 or June 13 to prepare for the attack. The town is just about an hour's drive south of Washington.  One suspect allegedly told authorities the group was targeting 'capitalist elites' and 'billionaires.' Several billionaires were there, including Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, Paramount and CBS boss David Ellison, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and others.  Many in the presidential line of succession were also at the Sunday evening event. House Speaker Mike Johnson, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and FBI Director Kash Patel were all there.  Also on the alleged target list were politicians who received donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), according to sources.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. 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