Federal authorities say they disrupted an alleged terrorist plot targeting the UFC White House event held June 14 on the South Lawn of the White House.
According to officials, the alleged plan aimed at attendees on the South Lawn and nearby Ellipse Park and involved explosive-laden drones, snipers, and a planned second wave attacking the White House gates. The potential threat was reportedly first discovered by the FBI on June 10.
One suspect was taken into custody in Cincinnati and, as of Monday, five suspects are in custody, with investigators identifying 23 people as involved. Sean Curran said, "In the days leading up to this weekend, our special agents, mission support personnel, and technical security teams worked around the clock to identify those responsible and hold them accountable," adding, "Equally important to our protective mission is ensuring accountability through the justice system. To that end, our formal comments regarding the specifics of this case will be made through court filings."
Kash Patel stated, "While the result represented the best of investigative work, it was also nothing out of the ordinary for this law enforcement team," and added, "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 [Freedom] 250 fight. That’s exactly what we did here."
Despite the alleged plot and inclement weather in surrounding areas, the UFC event proceeded with only a delay to the start time. The card saw Justin Gaethje knock out Ilia Topuria in the fourth round to unify the UFC lightweight titles, and Ciryl Gane knock out Alex Pereira to become interim heavyweight champion for a second time.
