Feds charge Ohio teen in foiled White House terror plot
Federal authorities have arrested a 19-year-old Knox County man and four others in connection with an alleged terror plot to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event held on the White House South Lawn on Sunday, June 15.
Tycen Proper, of Danville, faces multiple federal charges, including conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, attempted murder of a federal officer or employee, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and related firearms violations, according to a criminal complaint and FBI affidavit unsealed Tuesday. He is being held in the Franklin County Jail.
The FBI says the plot was disrupted after Proper’s mother contacted authorities on June 10, expressing alarm over her son’s recent firearms purchases, tactical gear acquisitions, and online activity.
According to the affidavit, Proper had spent approximately $3,000 of his graduation money on an AR-style rifle, magazines, thousands of rounds of ammunition, ballistic plates, and camping equipment. Family members reported he quit his job to prepare for a “mission.”
Court documents detail that Proper had joined various Discord channels and a TikTok group called “Vanguard of the Old” in March 2026. According to his mother, Proper became radicalized through these online interactions, and recently began “making sympathetic comments about Adolf Hitler and posting anti-Semitic comments on Facebook.”
CRAZY: The FBI just unsealed a complaint against a 19-year-old accused of helping plan Sunday's White House UFC attack.
Per the affidavit, he picked congressional targets by who took "pro-Israel" money. He named Marsha Blackburn because she'd "taken money from the Israel pro… pic.twitter.com/um4yjM485f
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) June 16, 2026
Proper joined the group of approximately 19, which, court documents say, included “ex-military” members who used TikTok, Signal and Discord to share research and maps of locations in the area just northwest of Washington, D.C.
Proper’s mother also stated that she had observed additional images and maps being sent to her son from unknown people through texts and Discord messages.
According to the affidavit, “Members of the group believed that the United States needed to be torn down so that it could be rebuilt. Some expressed a desire that people who were involved with Jeffrey Epstein should not govern the country. Members shared information with each other on the TikTok group to show their trustworthiness and commitment to the cause, such as identification documents and videos of their abilities and workouts.”
BREAKING: Details via federal arrest affidavit reveal that a California man named Michael Alan Thomas was one of the alleged organizers of the alleged UFC White House terror plot. Feds say he admitted he believes the U.S. government is run by elites who sacrifice and eat… pic.twitter.com/L8i1bTR9Em
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 16, 2026
According to a federal charging document, co-conspirator Michael Alan Thomas told authorities that the government is run by elites who sacrifice and eat babies.
“Thomas indicated that he believes that the U.S. government is run by an elite group of individuals who sacrifice and consume infants who also were deeply involved with Jeffery Epstein and are now protected by President Donald Trump.”
According to Proper, the group also believed that “data centers were straining community resources,” under these “elite influences,” and that the plot would “jumpstart” a broader revolution to take down the nation.
According to the filing, the plan involved traveling to Fredericksburg, Virginia, staging a demonstration on the north side of the White House, and launching explosive-laden drones over the UFC arena to force attendees and “high-value targets” – politicians who had taken AIPAC dollars and wealthy individuals – southward into sniper fire.
Proper, identified as a team leader, had named specific lawmakers as targets due to alleged ties to “pro-Israel” PACs, including U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a conservative Republican from Tennessee. He also shared images of other members of Congress with details of their pro-Israel funding.
AIPAC Hall of Shame
#30. Sen. Marsha Blackburn [R-TN]
AIPAC Donations: $291,246
Israel Lobby Total: $574,932@MarshaBlackburn is paid to put Israel first and supports shredding our First Amendment right to free speech. pic.twitter.com/WFHBYHc8CS— AIPAC Tracker (@TrackAIPAC) March 14, 2025
Searches recovered AR-15-style rifles, body armor, maps of Washington, D.C., and chat logs outlining the operation. Proper admitted to participating in planning but claimed he did not intend to shoot people himself.
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… pic.twitter.com/PbWkIk1Lr5
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) June 16, 2026
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed five individuals are in custody across multiple states, all U.S. citizens with no foreign nexus. The UFC event proceeded safely. Proper’s family described him as a recent high school graduate increasingly influenced by the group, which his mother believed used religion to manipulate him. The case remains active in the U.S. District Court.
Jillian Michaels is in total shock as Ana Kasparian is sounding just like Nick Fuentes on Israel. pic.twitter.com/ZInY16isCW
— KaizerRev (@Kaizerrev) June 15, 2026
The unraveled plot comes amid heightened awareness of the horseshoe theory, a term increasingly used to explain identity-based collectivism and the friend-versus-enemy distinction. Critics, pointing to the “woke left” and “woke right,” say influencers frame highly emotional rhetoric as evidence of moral superiority in order to justify the dehumanization of “enemies” and overthrow traditional Western governing philosophies.
