An Ohio man allegedly helped plot a plan to attack the White House's UFC cage fight and was arrested by law enforcement officials, according to court documents.
The Associated Press reported that Tycen Proper, 19, of Knox County was arrested in connection with the attack. The attack would have targeted the UFC cage fight at the White House this past weekend. Proper and his co-conspirators allegedly wanted to fly drones with explosives into the event and then shoot at the panicked crowd.
The FBI believes the group were upset at the direction of the country and didn't want people involved with Jeffrey Epstein governing the U.S.
The event was organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S.
Proper is charged with firearms offenses and crimes including attempted murder of an officer or employee of the United States in the U.S. District Court in Columbus.
Proper's mother contacted local law enforcement last week with concerns about his firearms purchases and online communications, according to an FBI affidavit filed in the case.
An assistant federal public defender assigned to represent Proper did not immediately return messages from the AP seeking comment. Proper made an initial court appearance Monday in Columbus and faces a detention hearing on Wednesday.
The FBI affidavit said Proper admitted in an interview with law enforcement that he participated in the planning of an attack. Some members of the group began communicating with each other last March through a TikTok group called “Vanguard of the Old.”
“The members of the group stated that they wanted to protect the United States, which they believed was headed in the wrong direction,” the affidavit says. “Members of the group believed that the United States needed to be torn down so that it could be rebuilt. Some expressed a desire that people who were involved with Jeffrey Epstein should not govern the country.”
Messages obtained from Proper’s phone show he discussed the plot with others and highlighted several lawmakers he said should be targeted because of their support for Israel, the affidavit said.
Proper told law enforcement officials that he had been planning to drive with weapons and body armor to a meet-up spot in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where the group was set to gather, the affidavit said. He said that though he did not intend to shoot people at the White House, others in the group did.
