5 arrested over plot to attack White House UFC event, DOJ says

Amna Nawaz:

All right, switching gears now a little bit, I want to turn to some news today about a foiled plot to attack the Ultimate Fighting Championship event that took place at the White House this weekend.

What do we know about that?

Ali Rogin:

That's right.

This morning, FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X that a plot was -- quote -- "stopped cold by the FBI and law enforcement partners" and that multiple individuals are now in custody. According to an arrest document, one of the individuals is a 19-year-old Ohio man named Tycen Proper who said he had been planning an attack with a group of political extremists.

Proper's mother is the one that had called law enforcement to flag his behavior. He'd been communicating with individuals who she said seemed to have ultrareligious and anti-government views and that he had purchased firearms.

This group had been planning to fly drones laden with explosives over the event and then fire at people in the dispersing crowd after the explosives had detonated. So far, Amna, we know that five individuals have been arrested.

Amna Nawaz:

So, five individuals were that -- was that the entire group planning this attack? Or could there be more people at large?

Ali Rogin:

There could be more people at large. There have been reports today that there are up to 23 people who were involved.

In any event, FBI Director Patel's counterparts in other federal law enforcement agencies have criticized his disclosure of this investigation at such an early stage. The deputy director of the U.S. Secret Service today told reporters that revealing the active investigation as it's ongoing could really undermine its integrity.

He said that the fight attendees were never in harm's way, but that talking about it, this kind of multistate probe at this early stage, is premature. And he had an admonishment that seemed directed at Patel.

Matthew Quinn, Secret Service Deputy Director:

Don't choke on your own smoke. Anyone that believes that case was worked in a bubble is naive. I will tell you, the Secret Service led that investigation from the beginning. I will tell you that it's ongoing. In order to maintain the integrity of the investigation and the security plan, we chose not to leak it.

Ali Rogin:

Just to underscore, that's the number two at the Secret Service accusing the FBI director of a leak that could endanger an ongoing investigation, Amna.

Amna Nawaz:

Worth underscoring.

Justice correspondent Ali Rogin, terrific reporting. Thank you.

Ali Rogin:

You bet.