FBI thwarted plans to attack White House UFC event with drones and sniper team
President Donald Trump said he had not heard about the planned attack
The FBI said on Tuesday it had thwarted a potential threat ahead of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mixed martial arts event in Washington last weekend and has multiple people in custody.
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The alleged plot would have seen the attackers use explosive-laden drones to hit buildings near the event to force a mass evacuation, and crowds would then be directed towards a team of snipers.
Officials told Fox News that a second wave was planned to storm the White House gate.
"On June 10, FBI and our law enforcement partners became aware of a potential threat to the UFC America 250 event in Washington, D.C. involving individuals outside of the National Capital Region," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement posted on X.
Read more: Gavin Newsom claims Trump directed Justice Department to investigate him and his wife
Patel did not specify how many people were in custody after the multistate operation on the alleged planned attacks.
Five people were in custody and 23 were identified as part of a network of plotters, Fox News Digital reported.
Signal chats were uncovered showing multiple people allegedly discussing attacking the UFC event and officials said that one suspect's iPhone had 23 users on Signal discussing pre-operational activity.
Fox added that one suspect allegedly told investigators they were targeting "capitalist elites," "billionaires" or politicians connected with Israel.
President Donald Trump, at the Group of Seven summit in Evian, France, said he had not heard about the planned attack.
Vice President JD Vance said authorities were trying to look at the underground networks that would drive such violence.
"Twenty-three people do not get to the point where they're going to commit a mass terror incident in Washington, D.C. without some serious funding, without some serious coordination," Vance said in a Fox News interview.
"That's not a few guys doing crazy stuff, that is a coordinated planned terrorist plot," he told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program.