The UFC’s ambitious Freedom 250 event on the South Lawn of the White House nearly faced a major security threat before it even took place. According to a post by FBI Director Kash Patel, the FBI and its law enforcement officials successfully foiled an alleged plot involving explosive-laden drones and snipers targeting the event on the South Lawn. It has since resulted in five arrests. According to court documents unsealed on Tuesday, the conspirators discussed plans to use several drones to strike buildings near the venue to trigger panic and a mass evacuation while Donald Trump attended the UFC White House event. The plan was to spark a mass panic and funnel those attending the event into designated lines of fire where waiting snipers and hidden shooters could target them.

However, reacting to the arrests, Dana White confirmed to TMZ that the drone and sniper plot was not the only threat the FBI thwarted during the event.

“Yeah, there was more than that,” the UFC CEO told TMZ. “And yes, I was in the loop while all those stuff that was happening in real time. Oh yeah [there were more]. Listen, these are the kind of events that bring the nuts out, you know what I mean. Yeah, this is normal stuff.

“The FBI is so good. I mean, these guys are so good at what they do. I mean, the up-to-date things that I had during the week of the fight. These guys are incredible, yeah. Listen, here’s the reality. There was no safer place in America to be on Sunday night than in DC.”

Here, Dana White did not specify the nature of the other threats. However, regarding the massive plot thwarted by law enforcement officials, five men from different states have been arrested while the investigators are on the lookout for at least 19-23 different individuals who participated in encrypted Signal chats actively discussing the logistics, maps, drone deployment, and counter-sniper positions.

The suspects in custody have been identified as Tycen C. Proper, 19, from Ohio; Bryan Omar Roa, 24, and Michael Alan Thomas, 32, both from California; Daniel K. Eskridge, 32, from Missouri, and Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, from Nebraska.

According to the court documents, the five arrested have been charged with conspiracy to commit m–der, among other counts.

The criminal complaint filed on one of the prime suspects, Alvarez, stated that in one of his responses on the Signal chat, he identified the potential targets as President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Elon Musk, and several elected officials, though not all of them attended the UFC White House event.

The conspiracy was uncovered on June 10 after investigators were tipped off by Proper’s mother, who contacted local authorities.

As per reports, Proper’s mother grew suspicious after he went on the $3,000 tactical shopping spree that included firearms, ammunition, and tactical equipment. And after she overheard Proper talking about “recon” and “hit-and-run missions,” she immediately reached out to authorities.

Authorities further said he had acquired thousands of rounds of ammunition, an AR-style rifle, a bullpup rifle painted with the American flag, and multiple plate carriers. Despite the vastness of the plan, the FBI managed to successfully thwart the attack, and the event went ahead as planned. If convicted, all five suspects face a maximum penalty of life in prison plus a fine of $250,000.

After the arrests, FBI Director Kash Patel took to social media to laud the swift efforts of the law enforcement officials.

“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,” Patel remarked on X.

Following the details of the alleged plot becoming public, Elon Musk and President Donald Trump addressed the FBI’s actions.

Donald Trump and Elon Musk react to alleged UFC White House threats

After attending the UFC Freedom 250 event on Sunday, the President of the United States appeared at the G7 Summit in Évian-les-Bains, France. There, a reporter asked POTUS about the alleged attack plot connected to the UFC event. In response, Trump, who appeared to be seated alongside UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, made it clear that he initially had not heard about the plot.

“I haven’t heard about it, no,” Trump stated during the summit. “But I watched. The attack that I watched where the fighters.”

Meanwhile, Elon Musk, who is also close to Dana White and has previously attended UFC events, reacted on social media to the threats targeting the promotion’s event.

“Wow, this is crazy!” Musk wrote on X.

While the UFC has faced security vulnerabilities before stemming from rowdy fan behavior and chaotic brawls between fighter entourages, nothing of the nature of a coordinated terror attack has been uncovered in the promotion’s history.

Now, as many details still remain to be uncovered, it must be recognized that the Secret Service’s tight security definitely played its part in protecting the event from any unfortunate mishaps.