Eight men were indicted Thursday over an alleged plot to attack a UFC event on The White House grounds. Prosecutors said the plan centered on the June 14 event on the South Lawn of the White House, where attendees were allegedly the intended target.
The indictment adds Chandler D. Scaggs, 21, of Chapmanville, West Virginia, to a case that began with arrests after the event. The eight defendants face charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to commit murder on federal government territory and to murder a federal government official, with possible sentences of up to life in prison.
Columbus, Ohio indictment
A grand jury in Columbus, Ohio, returned the two-count indictment on Thursday. It replaces earlier criminal complaints filed in various districts around the country after five men were arrested on the weekend of the event and another two suspects were taken into custody the following week.
The defendants are Chandler D. Scaggs, Tycen Proper, Abraham Alvarez, Daniel K. Eskridge, William L.S. Falkner, Jordan W. Rincker, Bryan O. Roa and Michael Thomas. Prosecutors said the men allegedly wanted to use drones to create a diversion before using snipers to attack attendees fleeing the June 14 event.
Tycen Proper and Scaggs
Scaggs was allegedly assigned to be one of the snipers. Prosecutors said Scaggs was planning to be picked up by Tycen Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio, and travel to Washington, D.C., with him, but Scaggs and other alleged members of the plot lost contact with Proper after Proper was arrested by federal authorities.
After losing contact with Proper, Scaggs allegedly made new plans to travel to Washington, D.C., and indicated he still wanted to carry out the attack. Scaggs was taken into custody in West Virginia.
Joseph Patituce response
Joseph Patituce, Proper's attorney, said, "We have received a copy of the indictment that was returned today" and added, "Mr. Proper will enter a plea of not guilty and as we move forward we will carefully review the charges against him and go step by step from there. We ask that the public keep an open mind and remember that he is 19 years old, the youngest of any person charged here." Eric Brehm, Scaggs's attorney, said, "Because of the serious nature of the allegations, I decline any further comment until I've had an opportunity to more thoroughly review this matter".
Prosecutors said the alleged targets included President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk and the Prime Minster of Israel. The indictment says the men created, organized and participated in a structured system of action, including a tier system that classified participants, with tier one described as those willing to put themselves in harms way, break the law and potentially go into hiding.
