FBI Arrests Five in Plot Targeting White House UFC Event

Federal authorities have disrupted an alleged terrorist plot targeting a high-profile UFC event held on the White House South Lawn, arresting five individuals and revealing a public dispute between the FBI and the Secret Service over the handling of the case. The alleged ringleader is a Mexican national who had been living in the United States after overstaying a visa.

The Department of Homeland Security identified the accused ringleader as Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, who was arrested by the FBI in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 14, the same day as the "UFC Freedom 250" event. Alvarez entered the U.S. as a child on a B-2 tourist visa that expired in 2001 and was later granted protections from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in 2014. Following his arrest, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer against him. A DHS statement said Alvarez "should NEVER have been allowed in our country" and vowed he would face justice and be "swiftly removed."

According to federal court documents, Alvarez and his co-conspirators allegedly planned to use explosive-laden drones near the White House venue to force an evacuation, after which...