NEW: FBI Arrests Five in Assassination Plot, Attack on White House UFC Event

[SVPete]

This looks likely to grow, so, it's own thread.

NEW: FBI Arrests Five in Assassination Plot, Attack on White House UFC Event

https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2026/06/16/new-fbi-arrests-five-in-plot-to-bomb-white-house-ufc-event-n3816004

The plans for Donald Trump's 80th birthday and the UFC event on the White House lawn nearly got derailed by weather, but it ended up going off without a hitch. Trump can thank the FBI for that, as agents foiled a conspiracy to create a mass-casualty event involving drones, bombs, and at least one sniper to murder people in the ensuing panic.

Agents have already arrested five people, the New York Post reports this morning:

The FBI thwarted an explosive drone attack against Sunday’s UFC Freedom 250 event on the White House South Lawn and have already taken five suspects into custody, it was revealed Tuesday.

The multi-phase terror attack allegedly involved using explosive-laden drone aircraft to strike buildings in the vicinity of the event, sparking mass panic and driving the fleeing crowd toward a sniper team poised to pick them off, officials told Fox News Digital.

A “second wave” of attackers then allegedly planned to storm the White House gate, officials said.

The number of arrests will likely rise sharply in the coming days. And the motive could be pulled from any Democrat rally in 2026:

Upon investigating a suspect’s iPhone, authorities found at least 23 users of encrypted chat app Signal involved in discussing parameters of what could have been a devastating terror attack in the heart of the nation’s capital.

A suspect told investigators the goal of the attack was to target “capitalist elites,” “billionaires” and politicians who received money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), according to the outlet.

A law enforcement source told CBS News that law enforcement became aware of the threat after a relative contacted them, concerned that a family member was talking about doing something nefarious in Washington, D.C.

The tip eventually led to the arrest of an Ohio man and the discovery of an informal network of individuals discussing a plot on a Signal chat. Others were taken into custody as the investigation continued.

[SVPete]

Plot Against Freedom 250 Event Foiled

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/06/plot-against-freedom-250-event-foiled.php#google_vignette

The FBI has announced multiple arrests in connection with an alleged terrorist plot against the UFC Freedom 250 event held at the White House Sunday evening:

The plot to attack the White House’s UFC Freedom 250 event Sunday involved at least 12 suspects across the US who adhered to an “accelerationist” ideology and hoped to bring down American capitalism, according to federal law enforcement sources.
***
The suspects are in at least four states — California, Ohio, Missouri and Nebraska.They were plotting to gather in Fredericksburg, Virginia, to launch an explosive drone attack on the White House and surrounding buildings — and then attempt to storm the gates of the White House, according to sources.

Explosive drones bring terrorism up to date, I suppose. It isn’t clear how serious a plot this was. The linked Post story says it was uncovered when “a parent of one kid in the [Signal] messaging platform reporting it to the police….” And one suspect “was allegedly plotting the attack while in a mental health facility.”

My emphasis. The seriousness of the "plot" probably is one of the first questions being investigated. The complexity of the plan, relatively brief time for preparation, and geographic separation of the conspirators suggest a large degree of fantasy, though even parts of it being carried out would entail danger.