Washington DC - A group of men were arrested across four states and charged with conspiracy to commit murder after the FBI thwarted a plot to attack Sunday's White House UFC event with snipers and drones.
"The FBI launched an investigation into the plot and identified a group of conspirators who procured weapons and made plans to carry out the attack," the FBI announced in a press release on Tuesday.
Five individuals across four states were arrested by FBI agents over the weekend for allegedly conspiring to "plan and execute a mass casualty event targeting US officials in attendance."
Those arrested were identified as Tycen C. Proper in Ohio, Bryan Omar Roa and Michael Alan Thomas in California, Daniel Eskridge in Missouri, and Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez in Nebraska.
"The conspirators allegedly planned to deploy drones armed with explosives in and around the UFC Freedom 250 event in order to force an evacuation of the event and then planned to deploy snipers to fire upon 'high value targets' within the fleeing crowd."
The FBI's press release and the announcement of multiple arrests confirm an earlier Fox News report – which had already been corroborated by FBI Director Kash Patel – that the bureau had thwarted an attempted attack on Sunday.
Approximately 4,300 people were present for the UFC event, which was billed as a celebration of the US' 250th anniversary and happened to fall on President Donald Trump's birthday.
"The FBI, our law enforcement partners and our US Attorneys did what they do every day to make America Safe through quick response and vigilance in investigating, disrupting, and dismantling this alleged plan before it could be carried out," said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
"We will take immediate and aggressive action to identify and prosecute those who incite and plan acts of violence."