The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday an illegal immigrant from Mexico, who sought deportation relief under President Barack Obama, allegedly orchestrated the failed terrorist attack targeting the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House.
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Officials said Abraham Alvarez, 31, came to the U.S. in 2001 as a child on a visa designated for tourists, medical procedures and other short-term reasons, but he remained here after the visa expired.
The Obama administration’s policy of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, spared the suspect from deportation after he was deemed a “Dreamer” in 2014.
Prosecutors accused Mr. Alvarez of devising the foiled terrorist attack that intended to kill President Trump and other “high value targets” by launching explosive-laden drones and having snipers open fire on the thousands of UFC fans.
“This illegal alien from Mexico should have never been allowed in our country,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “He was the ringleader of a failed terror attack targeting UFC Freedom 250 at the White House.”
The DHS said he will be prosecuted and then deported for the thwarted attack on the White House complex.
Four other suspects — Daniel Eskridge of Missouri, Tycen Proper of Ohio, and Bryan Omar Roa and Michael Alan Thomas of California — were charged in the plot that was intended to be carried out on the White House’s South Lawn.
Mr. Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance as well as Cabinet members, celebrities and active-duty military personnel were in the 4,300-person crowd to watch the professional cage-fighting matches. An additional 85,000 fans gathered on the White House Ellipse for a viewing party.
Prosecutors said Mr. Alvarez called the shots in the online group that came together over their anti-government sentiments, the handling of the Epstein files and U.S.-Israel relations, among other things.
Court documents accused Mr. Alvarez, dubbed “Shepherd” in the group chat, of planning the attack that was going to use kamikaze drones to force a mass evacuation at the UFC fight and then allow snipers to ambush the fleeing crowd.
“This is the best action I see. Position your teams in the purple dots (counter sniper and drones) Long range (circled area) (great shot) Easy out into the river,” the suspect allegedly wrote in reference to maps, according to the filing.
When another member of the group chat asked about making the explosive drones, Mr. Alvarez allegedly replied, “As many and as deadly as we can get.”
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The complaint said Mr. Alvarez shared a photo of an old church in Nebraska to serve as a hideout, and provided directions to the location.
“From his home here in Nebraska, Alvarez allegedly directed and recruited others across the country to conduct a horrific attack against government officials in a mass casualty event,” FBI Omaha’s Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel said in a statement after the suspect was charged Tuesday.
Suspect Tycen Proper’s parents alerted authorities in Knox County, Ohio, after their 19-year-old son admitted to talking about “hit and run” missions with the group, which his family took as shooting and leaving, court documents said.
The filing said Mr. Proper quit his job and spent $3,000 on weapons, ammunition and tactical gear in preparation for the attack.
He also identified targets for the group to prioritize, such Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Republican, and a quartet of West Virginia Republicans — Sens. Jim Justice and Shelley Moore Capito, and Reps. Carol Miller and Riley Moore — because of their ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC.
Mr. Proper’s family noticed him looking at maps of the D.C. area just four days before the terror plot was supposed to unfold. The family soon called the police, and prosecutors said Mr. Proper admitted to the scheme when he was interviewed by the FBI.
The Department of Justice said the remaining suspects were arrested at their homes in California and Missouri days later. Each of them had caches of firearms, ammunition and other combat gear in their residences.
“Protecting the President of the United States and the White House grounds is priority number one for the U.S. Secret Service,” Director Sean Curran said in a statement. “The landscape has changed, and as a result we have seen a dramatic rise in threats against our protectees.”
Each of the five is accused of conspiracy to commit murder. Mr. Alvarez and Mr. Proper face additional charges of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, and Mr. Proper has been charged with weapons violations.
Federal officials said up to 23 other co-conspirators may be linked to the foiled attack.
If convicted of murder conspiracy, each suspect could be sentenced to life in prison.
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