Eight accused in US of planning terror attack on Trump's birthday
Photo: The assassination attempt was planned on the grounds of the White House (Getty Images)
In the US, 8 people have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and terrorism—they were planning a drone and sniper attack on a UFC event near the White House, according to The Guardian.
What are defendants accused of
The indictment filed in Ohio charges all eight defendants with two separate counts of conspiracy—providing material support to terrorists and plotting to commit murder on federal government property and to murder a federal official.
According to the investigation, the plan originated in May—at that time, the group began stockpiling money, firearms, ammunition, body armor, explosives, drones, and medical and communications equipment.
What did perpetrators plan
On June 10, four days before the event itself, law enforcement learned of a potential threat to the UFC mixed martial arts event being held near the White House.
One of the defendants told investigators that the group planned to launch drones carrying explosives into the crowd at the event and then open fire on people as they fled in panic.
According to officials, the group’s members subscribed to fringe conspiracy theories and hoped the attack would destabilize the government.
Who is involved in case
The Justice Department announced charges against seven individuals last month—suspects from Ohio, Missouri, Washington, Nebraska, and California. Tycen Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio, and four others were arrested and charged in Missouri, Nebraska, and California over the weekend leading up to an event called Freedom 250. The FBI arrested two more suspects about a week later in Washington and Missouri.
The eighth suspect was charged just this week—21-year-old Chandler Skaggs of Chapmanville, West Virginia, who was arrested in the same state. According to the investigation, he was assigned the role of one of the snipers in the planned attack.
How events surrounding Skaggs’s arrest unfolded
According to the case file, Skaggs was supposed to pick up Propper and drive him to Washington, D.C., but contact between them was lost after Proper's arrest—the same thing happened with the other suspects.
Despite this, Skaggs allegedly signaled to the group that he was still ready to participate in the attack and arranged to travel to the event with another co-conspirator.
Someone planned to kill Trump on his birthday. According to the FBI, they intended to use drones and snipers in the assassination attempt.
This is not the first incident involving an assassination attempt on a US President. On April 25, during Trump’s dinner with journalists, an armed individual was detained, and several shots were fired. And in February 2026, a court sentenced Ryan Routh to life in prison for attempting to shoot the President on a golf course in Florida in September 2024.
There were also reports of an assassination attempt on Trump during a rally in Butler, when a bullet passed just centimeters from his head and grazed his ear.
