FBI thwarts alleged attack against UFC Freedom 250

A plot to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event on Sunday was thwarted by the FBI and supporting law enforcement agencies, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.

“On June 10, FBI and our law enforcement partners became aware of a potential threat to the UFC America 250 event in Washington, D.C. involving individuals outside of the National Capital Region — and 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 wrote in an X post Tuesday.

'We got to tell everybody to tone it down.'

Officials claimed the plot included employing drones with explosive capabilities to target surrounding buildings, prompting event attendees to flee toward a team of snipers, according to Fox News. Between the crowds on the South Lawn and the Ellipse, approximately 90,000 gathered in the area to watch the event.

The attackers then allegedly planned to rush the White House gate.

Fox News also reported that a suspect allegedly revealed the targets to be "billionaires," "capitalist elites," and politicians with funding from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Signal chats obtained by the FBI allegedly featured “pre-operational activity” discussed among a network of 23 people. Five people are in custody, Fox News reported.

In a statement on X, Secret Service Director Sean Curran said, “The U.S. Secret Service worked closely with the FBI throughout this investigation. In the days leading up to this weekend, our special agents, mission support personnel, and technical security teams worked around the clock to identify those responsible and hold them accountable."

Curran added, “Equally important to our protective mission is ensuring accountability through the justice system.”

RELATED: 'I prayed so much for this' — Justin Gaethje's UFC victory speech perfectly captures American spirit

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

When Trump was asked about the alleged attack at the G7 summit in France, he responded, “I haven’t heard of it,” adding, “The attack that I watched was the fighters.”

On "Fox & Friends" Tuesday morning, Vice President JD Vance said, "This is what happens when people turn the rhetoric up so loud that disagreeing with somebody is a cause for violence.

"We got to tell everybody to tone it down."

"Everybody has a role to cut this stuff out, but I think a lot of my Democratic colleagues in Washington have got to look themselves in the mirror and say, why is so much of this political violence coming from our side of the spectrum?" Vance also said.

The UFC Freedom 250 event featured 14 fighters from a range of countries on the White House South Lawn on June 14, the same day as Flag Day and Trump's 80th birthday.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!