19-year-old would-be attacker of UFC event sought to use drones and was referred to police by his parents, FBI says

By Holmes Lybrand, Kaanita Iyer, Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN

(CNN) — Federal officials have charged multiple people who they claim discussed plots to attack the UFC fight night event at the White House, including by using drones and a gunman.

A team including the Secret Service and FBI uncovered messages discussing the plot between multiple individuals, according to criminal complaints against five people unsealed Tuesday.

According to a criminal complaint against one of the alleged plotters, the mother of one of the defendants — 19-year-old Tycen Proper — called local police on June 10, saying she was “was concerned about her son” because of his recent conduct, which included buying guns and communicating with a group of radicals online.

Proper’s mother had also seen her son researching mapping locations in Washington, DC, near the White House, according to the complaint, and told officers that her son had said the group was looking at multiple locations for “recon” and “hit and run missions.”

According to court documents, the group Proper joined was focused on some form of accelerationism — an ideology that believes the collapse of society should be expedited in order to form a better world.

Some members said in the chats they didn’t want people connected to Jeffrey Epstein running the country, according to the complaint, while Proper was also focused on targeting lawmakers who were pro-Israel.

An affidavit from an FBI agent says Proper later admitted to planning with others in the group to attack the US government during the UFC fight at the White House. Proper had also allegedly shared images of members of Congress who supported Israel as potential targets.

The 19-year-old has been charged with several counts including conspiracy to commit an offense against the US and attempted murder of any officer or employee of the United States. He has not entered a plea. CNN has reached out to an attorney listed for Proper.

Law enforcement later searched Proper’s home and found a chat with detailed imagery of DC, which highlighted sniper locations and “potential drone launch locations, and other detailed tactical planning.”

Proper’s father, meanwhile, told officers his son had been planning to leave to meet up with the individuals over the weekend of the UFC fight and had also recently amassed “gear, food, ballistic plates, a new shotgun, a rifle, ‘lots’ of ammunition, extra magazines, and plate carriers” with his recent graduation money, the complaint against Proper states.

The firearms included an AR-15 styled rifle and a bullpup rifle – which houses certain mechanisms like the magazine behind the gun’s trigger – painted with an American flag.

Proper was taken into a local hospital by police that night “based on homicidal ideations,” the complaint says.

The online group

In a follow-up phone interview, the mother said Proper had recently started to interact with an online group who said they were ex-military and Christian-based, the complaint says.

“(T)hey expressed ultra-religious and antigovernment sentiments, specifically citing grievances about government corruption, the handling of the Epstein files, data centers taking up all the water in communities, and other government actions,” the complaint says.

According to court documents, Proper started communicating with the group, “Vanguard of the Old” in March, 2026 through TikTok, later moving to private messaging applications. Members of the group, according to law enforcement, believed the US needed to be destroyed and rebuilt.

The primary private chat included 19 people, with other smaller groups breaking off in different chats based on assigned roles like shooters and shooting locations, the complaint says. Some members allegedly discussed using the Potomac River as an escape route following an attack.

Once on private messaging apps, the group including Proper began planning a trip to DC the weekend of the fight. Proper, however, said he was going to a protest but not to shoot people, adding that several other members of the group were “intent on violence,” according to the complaint.

Proper had also allegedly planned to pick up another member of the group on his way to DC from Ohio. That person, the complaint says, was trying to procure a firearm for the trip.

Proper said the group planned to deploy drones with explosive devices in order to cause panic, drawing “high value targets” – including wealthy people and politicians – to evacuate where snipers and additional shooters in the group would be stationed, according to the complaint.

It’s unclear how much preparation for the alleged plot existed beyond private messages.

In messages reviewed by law enforcement, Proper said one of his possible targets was Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn because “she’s taken money from the Israel pro Israel lobby.”

Proper also sent other images to the group of people he felt should be targeted including other Ssenators and members of Congress – images investigators believe were taken from an anti-Israel website.

Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn told reporters Tuesday that the investigation into the UFC fight threat is “active” and “ongoing.”

“There are still suspects at large and we’re going to work it until everyone’s been identified,” Quinn said.

President Donald Trump, when asked Tuesday during the G7 summit in France if he had been briefed about the threat, said, “I haven’t heard about it.”

Around 100,000 people gathered for the UFC fighting event, which was held Sunday on Trump’s 80th birthday as part of programming for America’s 250th anniversary.

The event, which was held in an arena built on the White House South Lawn, also featured a festival for fans on the Ellipse.

The Secret Service handled all security on the White House grounds while Park Police was the “point” on the Ellipse, CNN previously reported. DC Metropolitan Police handled everything outside the Ellipse, including multiple street closures.

It took about 19 months of planning and weeks of set up to bring Trump’s vision together. The roughly $60 million price tag was footed by the UFC, though the federal government was in charge of “first aid/medical services, law enforcement, and security,” according to White House management and administration director Joshua Fisher.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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