Eight people are facing charges of conspiracy to commit murder and terrorism; according to the indictment, they are alleged to have — to have planned an attack using drones and weapons, with the aim of assassinating Donald Trump at a UFC event held on the White House lawn in June.

The indictment, which was filed before a federal grand jury in the state of Ohio, charges the arrested individuals with two separate counts: providing material support to terrorists and conspiring to commit murder on U.S. government property, including the murder of a government official.

It remains unclear from the court documents how close the would-be perpetrators had come to carrying out their plan before it was thwarted. FBI Director Kas Patel, confirmed last month that the plot had been dismantled, with at least five people taken into custody and another 23 identified as members of a possible network of accomplices.

A total of eight men have now been indicted for their alleged roles in the plot to attack a UFC event on the grounds of the White House last month, according to federal prosecutors.

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The assassination plot involved “explosives, drones, and body armor”

The documents charge eight men, aged 19 to 32, with participating in the alleged plot to assassinate the U.S. president, Vice President J.D. Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Tesla and SpaceX billionaire founder Elon Musk, as well as “other high-value targets” during the “UFC Freedom 250” event on June 14.

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The following are named as alleged accomplices: Abraham Alvarez, Daniel Eskridge, William Falkner, Tyssen Propper, Jordan Rinker, Brian Roa, Chandler Scaggs, and Michael Thomas.

The indictment states that the gang began formulating the plan in May, when it started gathering money, firearms, ammunition, bulletproof vests, explosives, drones, medical equipment, communication devices, and other items.

Using online platforms and social media such as Signal, SimpleX, Discord, TikTok, and Instagram, the group of eight is accused of creating “a ‘tier’ system (tiers) to classify participants” based on their alleged role in the conspiracy, according to the documents.

Participants in the “first tier” were tasked with “putting themselves at risk, breaking the law, and possibly going into hiding,” while the gang allegedly agreed to kill any U.S. government employee working at the UFC event.

In addition, the members also agreed to travel from their homes in Nebraska, Missouri, Washington, Ohio, West Virginia, and California to the White House, and, according to the indictment, an escape route had also been mapped out for after the attack.

Two Californians indicted for planned terrorist attack at UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House https://t.co/9PRO8HHsjJ pic.twitter.com/dkjvRjYgO0

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Specifically, Roa and Thomas are accused of undergoing marksmanship and combat training in California in May. Prosecutors allege that Eskridge kept notes on his cell phone regarding the tiered system, which included personal information about each participant, while Falkner contacted at least one person on Instagram requesting, for a fee, 3D-printed “drone frames.”

The documents state that Roa began driving from California to Washington on June 11, but encountered “car trouble” the following day. On June 12, Alvarez met with Rinker in Omaha, Nebraska, to deliver a 3D printer to him. In exchange, Alvarez reportedly received a bulletproof vest, night-vision goggles, a face mask, a carbine, and a magazine belt.

How the Police Foiled the Attack

The latest court documents were filed after the U.S. Department of Justice announced last month a series of criminal prosecutions in various districts across the country related to the conspiracy.

The police learned of the potential threat against Donald Trump and the UFC event on June 10, four days before the fights were scheduled to take place.

A previous court document filed on June 15 showed that police were initially called to a home in Knox County, northeast of the Ohio capital, Columbus, by Propper’s mother. She was concerned because her son had been chatting with people online and had recently purchased firearms.

Proper’s father reportedly told police that the 19-year-old was planning “reconnaissance” and “hit-and-run missions,” (hit-and-run), and had spent at least $3,000 on camping gear, food, body armor, and “plenty of ammunition.”

Authorities stated that the group subscribed to fringe conspiracy theories and hoped that the attack would destabilize the U.S. government. Proper’s mother told authorities that her son had been speaking with people who claimed to be Christians and former military personnel.

“They expressed extreme religious and anti-government sentiments, citing specific grievances regarding government corruption, the handling of the Epstein files, data centers that consume all the water in local communities, as well as other government actions,” the court document states.

Proper later told investigators that the group communicated through a TikTok group called “Vanguard of the Old.” He then provided the police with the names of Roa and Thomas, whose homes were raided by the FBI on June 13.

According to a federal affidavit, one of the defendants later revealed to investigators that they planned to fly drones loaded with explosives into the event venue and then open fire on the panicked crowd as it tried to flee.

Trump ultimately attended the UFC fight, which took place without incident on the president’s 80th birthday, along with several other Republican politicians. Netanyahu did not attend.

Initially, five people were arrested

Proper and four others were arrested and charged in Missouri, Nebraska, and California over the weekend of the event. Two others were arrested by the FBI a week later in Washington, D.C., and Missouri.

The Department of Justice announced that 21-year-old Skaggs was the eighth person to be charged this week, following his arrest in West Virginia on charges that he had been assigned the role of sniper in the alleged attack plot. Skags’ attorney stated that his office is thoroughly reviewing the charges and declined to comment further.

Conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, while conspiracy to commit murder carries a sentence of up to life in prison.

Source: Protothema.gr