U.S. News

8 Men Indicted in Foiled Drone-and-Sniper Plot at Trump’s White House UFC Event

By Mike Harper · July 10, 2026

The plan, according to federal prosecutors, was to fly explosive drones into a crowd of thousands, then shoot the people who ran.

A federal grand jury in Ohio indicted eight men Thursday on murder and terrorism conspiracy charges, alleging they plotted to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event held on the White House South Lawn in June. Prosecutors say the group intended to target President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Elon Musk and other “high-value targets” expected to attend.

According to court records, the plot began taking shape in May, when the group started stockpiling money, firearms, ammunition, body armor, explosives, drones, medical supplies and communications gear. One defendant told investigators the plan was to fly explosive-laden drones into the June 14 event as a diversion, then use snipers to pick off attendees as they fled the chaos.

Law enforcement caught wind of a possible threat on June 10 — four days before the event was scheduled to happen. Five men were arrested that weekend across Missouri, Nebraska and California. Two more were picked up by the FBI about a week later in Washington and Missouri. The eighth suspect, 21-year-old Chandler D. Scaggs of Chapmanville, West Virginia, wasn’t taken into custody until this week. Court documents say he was allegedly assigned to serve as one of the snipers, and had planned to be picked up and driven to Washington — until the man expected to drive him was arrested and he lost contact.

The youngest defendant charged is 19-year-old Tycen C. Proper of Danville, Ohio, whose attorney told ABC News his client will plead not guilty.

“We ask that the public keep an open mind and remember that he is 19 years old, the youngest of any person charged here.” Joseph Patituce, attorney for defendant Tycen Proper, said.

Officials say the group was motivated by fringe conspiracy theories and believed the attack could help destabilize the federal government. Trump himself said Tuesday he hadn’t been aware of a foiled attack, speaking hours after FBI Director Kash Patel announced the multi-state operation on social media.

Thursday’s indictment consolidates what had been a scattered set of criminal complaints filed separately in Ohio, Missouri, Washington, Nebraska and California into a single federal conspiracy case. It charges all eight defendants under two separate conspiracies: one for providing material support to terrorists, another for plotting to murder a federal official on government property.

It remains unclear from court records just how close the group came to pulling off the attack before it was stopped. What’s clear is how much thought went into planning it — the indictment describes a “tier” system the group allegedly used to classify participants, with “tier one” members expected to break the law, risk arrest and potentially go into hiding.

The case now moves to federal court in Ohio, where all eight men will face the consolidated charges together.