Federal grand jury indicts 8 men over alleged plot to attack White House UFC event, DOJ says

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) – A federal grand jury has indicted eight men over an alleged plot to attack the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts event on the White House lawn in June, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement on Thursday.

Here are details:

• The FBI said last month it thwarted a planned attack on the White House UFC event.

• All eight men were charged together on Thursday in a two-count indictment returned in Columbus, Ohio. The first arrest took place in Ohio. The Justice Department said the remaining defendants have also since been arrested.

• They were aged from 19 to 32.

• The indictment charged all of them in two conspiracies: “conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists” and “conspiracy to commit murder on federal government territory and to murder a federal government official,” the Justice Department said.

• The defendants allegedly planned to murder President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, U.S. officials, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, billionaire Elon Musk and “other high value targets” at the event, the DOJ said.

• Trump attended the event, which was staged without incident on his 80th birthday, along with several senior Republican lawmakers, donors and administration officials to commemorate the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.

• Netanyahu did not attend the event.

• The defendants could not be reached for comment.

• The eight men allegedly participated in online chat groups and forums on Signal, SimpleX, Discord, TikTok and Instagram, the DOJ said.

• The plot involved using explosive-laden drones to strike the north side of the White House with the aim of funneling attendees toward an exit where snipers planned to open fire on fleeing politicians and others, the FBI alleged last month.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)