FBI Director Kash Patel’s public announcement of arrests in a foiled plot to attack the UFC fights at the White House has frustrated federal law enforcement officials, who say the disclosure came while the investigation was still ongoing and may have harmed the probe.
Over several days, federal law enforcement quietly made arrests in the plot, which involved more than two dozen people on an encrypted chat who allegedly spoke of flying drones laden with explosives onto the South Lawn and then shooting at fleeing attendees. The Ultimate Fighting Championship event was in honor of America’s 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.
But federal prosecutors had asked a judge to seal the case on Monday, and authorities were still working to take suspects into custody. Then Patel posted details of the arrests online Tuesday, claiming FBI credit for the investigation.
“It took some federal law enforcement officials by surprise, in part because authorities were still working to take suspects into custody,” according to three law enforcement officials.
Law Enforcement Frustration
One law enforcement official was “shocked” by the public disclosure and worried it could hinder the ongoing probe. The official said Patel did “a lot of damage” by treating the work of law enforcement partners as “an afterthought.”
A second official said there was frustration among career FBI agents working the case, because interviews were still being conducted after Patel’s public pronouncements. “There were still people being rounded up on a sealed federal case,” they said of Patel’s announcement. “It’s not great.”
However, another law enforcement official said arrests had been made by the time of Patel’s post Tuesday morning. “Five subjects were in custody because of the quick response and work of law enforcement, and it was determined that there was no ongoing threat to community or potential harm posed to the ongoing work of the FBI or law enforcement,” the person said.
There are a total of 26 usernames under investigation, and 14 had been identified, including the five arrested. Three people had been partially identified, while nine usernames had not yet been tied to an individual.
The Investigation’s Origin
The investigation originated not with federal law enforcement, but with a mother’s call to local law enforcement in Ohio, concerned about her son’s behavior. The Knox County Sheriff’s Office and Danville Police Department went to the home of 19-year-old Tycen Proper on June 10. He was taken into custody at a mental health center. Family members told authorities that Proper had made “sympathetic comments about Adolf Hitler” and posted “anti-Semitic comments on Facebook” in recent months.
He was interviewed by the FBI and gave up details of the chat. By Friday, another suspect from West Virginia told the FBI that group members had canceled their attack plans that morning.
An FBI task force officer swore out a criminal complaint against Proper on Friday, but the case remained under seal as the investigation unfolded. A federal prosecutor asked a federal magistrate judge to keep the case under seal Monday, which the magistrate judge agreed to do. The case was eventually unsealed Tuesday, after Patel’s social media announcement.
The Defendants
By the end of the day Tuesday, five defendants were in custody and facing federal charges: Proper, 24-year-old Bryan Omar Roa, 32-year-old Michael Alan Thomas, 32-year-old Daniel Eskridge and 31-year-old Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez.
The Agencies’ Response
The FBI didn’t dispute frustrations over the rollout but instead issued a joint statement with the Secret Service that said there had been a collaborative law enforcement effort. “The FBI and U.S. Secret Service are proud of our strong working relationship. This investigation highlights that continuous partnership and could not have happened without the great work and coordination between our two agencies,” the statement read.
Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn made his frustrations known at an unrelated news conference, saying, “I’ll tell you the Secret Service led that investigation from the beginning. I’ll tell you that it’s ongoing. In order to maintain the integrity of the investigation and the security plan, we chose not to leak it.” He also recalled a phrase from early in his career: “Don’t choke on your own smoke.”
The Bottom Line
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrests in a foiled plot to attack the White House UFC event on social media, frustrating federal law enforcement officials who say the disclosure came while the investigation was still ongoing. The plot involved more than two dozen people on an encrypted chat, with five suspects now in custody. The investigation originated with a mother’s call to local police in Ohio. The FBI and Secret Service have issued a joint statement praising the collaboration.
