The FBI and its law enforcement partners thwarted an attack planned against President Trump that was intended to occur during the UFC Freedom 250 event.
Officials told Fox News that five people are in custody over the matter, and 23 individuals have been identified as being involved in a network related to the plot. The plan allegedly involved using drones with explosives to hit buildings during the event, forcing an evacuation and steering crowds toward a sniper team. The FBI first learned of the event on June 10.
One of the suspects allegedly told investigators that the goal was to target “capitalist elites” and “billionaires” who received donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
“Our most important responsibility is safeguarding the President and every person under Secret Service protection. The U.S. Secret Service worked closely with the FBI throughout this investigation. In the days leading up to this weekend, our special agents, mission support personnel, and technical security teams worked around the clock to identify those responsible and hold them accountable,” Secret Service Director Sean Curran said in a statement. “Equally important to our protective mission is ensuring accountability through the justice system. To that end, our formal comments regarding the specifics of this case will be made through court filings.”
FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X that “thanks to the rapid action of this FBI, our partners, and the Department of Justice in a multi-state operation, multiple individuals are now in custody and allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold.”
“While the result represented the best of investigative work, it was also nothing out of the ordinary for this law enforcement team – we are built to detect, respond to, and bring to justice those who threaten the lives of American citizens – particularly during large gatherings like the historic UFC 250 fight,” he wrote. “That’s exactly what we did here. I want to thank our great agents and partners, this work remains ongoing and we will continue to update the public as permitted.”
