8 men indicted in planned drone and sniper attack on White House UFC
cage-fighting show
[July 10, 2026]
By JULIE CARR SMYTH and ERIC TUCKER
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Eight men were indicted on murder and terrorism
conspiracy charges Thursday for their alleged roles in a thwarted drone
and sniper attack on the UFC cage-fighting show staged at the White
House in June.
The indictment, returned in Ohio, charges all eight in two separate
conspiracies, one to provide material support to terrorists and a second
to commit murder on federal government territory and to murder a federal
government official.
It remains unclear from the court records how close the would-be
attackers could have come to being able to carry out the plan had it not
been thwarted.
According to the new indictment, the plot began in May, when the group
began amassing money, firearms, ammunition, body armor, explosives,
drones, medical equipment, communications equipment and other items.
It was on June 10 that law enforcement officials learned about a
possible threat to President Donald Trump’s UFC cage-fighting show, four
days before the mixed martial arts extravaganza was scheduled to take
place.
The Justice Department last month announced a series of criminal
complaints in different districts across the country in connection with
the UFC plot, including from Ohio, Missouri, Washington, Nebraska and
California.
The indictment announced Thursday represents an effort by the government
to streamline the case and knit the defendants together into a single
conspiracy prosecution in Ohio. Officials have said the group members
harbored fringe conspiracy theories and hoped the attack would
destabilize the government.
One of the defendants told investigators that they planned to fly
explosive-laden drones into the event and then shoot panicked crowd
members as they fled, according to a federal affidavit.
They communicated through online chat groups and forums and classified
participants into tiers, with tier 1 participants committing “to put
themselves in harm’s way, break the law, and potentially go into
hiding," according to the federal indictment. Members of the group also
engaged in marksmanship and combat training.
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President Donald Trump arrives at the arena for the UFC Freedom 250
on the South Lawn of the White House, June 14, 2026, in Washington.
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Tycen C. Proper 19, of Danville, Ohio, and four others were arrested
and charged in Missouri, Nebraska and California the weekend of the
cage-fighting event, called Freedom 250. Two more defendants were
charged and arrested by the FBI about a week later in Washington and
Missouri.
The Justice Department said an eighth man was charged this week. He
is 21-year-old Chandler D. Scaggs, of Chapmanville, West Virginia,
who was taken into custody in that state. Scaggs was allegedly
assigned to be one of the snipers in the plotted attack, according
to an affidavit.
The affidavit said Scaggs was apparently to be picked up by Proper
and taken to Washington but lost contact with him after Proper was
arrested, the same as the others. Scaggs allegedly signaled to the
group that he was still willing to participate in the attack and
arranged to travel to the event with another co-conspirator.
Scaggs' attorney, Eric Brehm, said his office was thoroughly
reviewing the allegations and declined to comment further.
Conspiring to provide material support to terrorists is punishable
by up to 15 years in prison, and conspiring to commit murder carries
a penalty of up to life in prison.
Federal prosecutors allege that the group planned to murder Trump,
Vice President JD Vance, other federal officials, Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, trillionaire businessman Elon Musk and
“other high value targets” at the event.
___
Tucker reported from Washington.
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