2 IE Men Charged In Mass Casualty Plot To Attack UFC White House Event: DOJ

Two men from the Inland Empire are among the five charged in connection with a plot to attack and kill government officials on Sunday at the Ultimate Fighting Championship Freedom 250 event at the White House, according to authorities.

Bryan Omar Roa, 24, of Calimesa; Michael Alan Thomas, 32, of Pinon Hills; Tycen C. Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio; Daniel K. Eskridge, 32, of Kidder, Missouri; and Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, of Omaha, Nebraska, conspired to plan and execute the mass casualty event, authorities said.

The conspirators intended to deploy drones armed with explosives in and around UFC Freedom 250 to force an evacuation and then deploy snipers to fire upon “high value targets” in the fleeing crowd, according to authorities, who said the FBI learned of the threat on June 10.

The charging documents paint a muddled picture of the conspirators’ views, depicting them as espousing a tangled web of anti-government sentiment, antisemitic grievances, fury over President Donald Trump’s administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, and conspiracy theories about a powerful elite that sacrifices and consumes children.

“Protecting the President of the United States and the White House grounds is priority number one for the U.S. Secret Service,” Sean Curran, director of the Secret Service, said in a news release. “The landscape has changed, and as a result we have seen a dramatic rise in threats against our protectees.”

In electronic chats on encrypted social media platforms, members of the group discussed assassinating several U.S. senators, representatives and prominent business executives, authorities said. Power grids were also identified as potential targets, according to authorities.

Proper’s mother contacted local law enforcement last week with concerns about his firearms purchases and online communications, according to an FBI affidavit.

Thomas said the group’s planned attacks were designed to overthrow the U.S. government, an FBI agent said in an affidavit. The agent said Thomas believed the U.S. government was “run by an elite group of individuals who sacrifice and consume infants who also were deeply involved with ... Epstein and are now protected by President Donald Trump.”

In a group chat on June 7, according to authorities, Thomas wrote “$1300 gets us the drones and the charges. Yes we should all pitch in and we need it asap…”

Also in a group chat, Thomas discussed meeting with Roa in person in Southern California to conduct “marksmen training” and reflected that the group needed to train for “gorilla style warfare,” authorities said.

FBI agents seized a rifle, 30-round extended magazines, 180 rounds of ammunition and a pistol in a June 13 search of Thomas’ home, according to authorities.

A search of Roa’s home and vehicle revealed a rifle, a handgun, a tactical belt, ammunition and a rifle magazine, a two-way radio and an infrared laser target pointer, authorities said. On his phone were messages in a group with Thomas, Proper and others discussing the attack, according to authorities.

Roa told the FBI he had planned to attend the event as a “protester” but that he had to return home because his car was broken, an agent said.

If convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to authorities. Conspiracy to commit violence on White House grounds carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, authorities said.

Trump, who celebrated his 80th birthday at the UFC event on Sunday, was friends with Epstein many years ago but has said he ended their relationship before the disgraced financier’s crimes became known. Epstein killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.