Details Emerge On Planned Attack On UFC Freedom 250

Five men have been arrested over an alleged plan to carry out an attack at UFC Freedom 250, the White House lawn event held on June 14.

Authorities are now hunting an additional 18 suspected conspirators after the investigation revealed a network of approximately 23 people in total. The group first connected through a TikTok community called “Vanguard of the Old,” where members reportedly vetted one another through identity documents, workout videos, and tactical content before shifting to encrypted Signal chats for operational planning. The suspects were spread across four states — Ohio, California, Missouri, and Nebraska — and were allegedly organized by a ringleader who coordinated the group remotely.

The investigation was triggered on June 10 when the mother of Tycen Proper, a 19-year-old from Ohio, contacted local authorities after growing alarmed by her son’s behavior. Proper’s father told investigators that he had recently connected with people online, was planning “recons” with them. Proper’s family also said he had purchased firearms, body armor, ammunition and tactical gear, and had quit his job in preparation for what he described as “missions.”

Police obtained a warrant for Proper’s phone and discovered Signal chats containing maps of Washington D.C., proposed sniper positions, drone launch sites and escape routes — unravelling the wider network. According to court documents, the alleged plan involved creating chaos inside the event before targeting officials as they fled the scene.

The group had identified a staging point in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and mapped out safe houses, fallback locations, and escape routes along the Potomac River. The FBI disrupted the plot and arrested all five men before the event took place, though the manhunt for the remaining 18 alleged conspirators is ongoing.