Man Who Targeted White House UFC Event Also Planned To Attack Bay Area Data Centers: Feds

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A man accused of trying to help carry out a plot to kill government officials at a UFC fight on the White House lawn in June also planned to target AI Data Centers in the Bay Area, according to federal court records.

Federal prosecutors say Christopher Perry, 38, and a group of co-conspirators conspired to bomb a UFC event on June 14 using drones. The event was hosted at the White House to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States gaining its independence.

That plot was just one of many that Perry and a group of co-conspirators discussed in a group chat called "Lion's Den." Among the group's other targets were Immigration and Customs Enforcement camps and Northern California data centers, including two in the Bay Area, federal records filed in Eastern District Court show.

"Each of us is a match. Each can start a fire," Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, a man accused of being the plot leader, said in the group chat days before the planned attack, court records reveal. "Breach, rescue, destroy, sabotage, stall. This op will require many teams and leaders. I will coordinate this through. Stand by for further directives."

'A Career Criminal'

Perry, who is from Rocklin, was excited and willing to get the plan going, according to the FBI.

The 38-year-old saluted Alvarez's message, volunteered to be the getaway driver, and claimed to prefer nonviolence but would be "all in, 10 toes down," if it came to it, court records show.

He detailed his criminal history with the group and claimed he had experience evading law enforcement, according to court records.

" I’ve been a career criminal," Perry bragged, according to court records. "I’ve been selling drugs since I was a teenager. I’ve been engaged in a slough (sic) of different criminal activities ranging from drugs and fraud and others I can’t really speak of."

He also boasted about being armed but that "he was not supposed to be," according to court records.

Perry was previously convicted most recently in January 2025 for possession of drugs, according to court records. His prior convictions include burglary and possession with intent to sell illegal substances, according to authorities.

'I'm A Fast Learner'

In the week leading up to UFC 250, Alvarez texted Perry asking if he knew how to fly a drone, court records show.

"I have 0 experience, but I am a fast learner," Perry responded, according to court records.

Alvarez later asked Perry if he could assemble a team of five people, court records show. Perry said he didn't know many people anymore who were "bout (sic) that life."

"It's all good, you're still a good contact, I'll add you to the cali team," Alvarez messaged Perry.

"Hell yea! Thanks man!" Perry responded.

On June 11, Alvarez added Perry to a group chat called "Sauron Eye," where members planned to target data centers in Northern California, court records show.

SEE ALSO:

• 'A Lot Of People Are Going To Understand:' How Economic Grievance, Tech-lash Erupted In Violence In CA

• Man Hurls Molotov Cocktail At Home Of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman: Police

• Plan To Build Data Centers On 70 CA Fairgrounds Triggers Backlash

The targets included data centers in Santa Clara, Sacramento and outside San Francisco, and two office locations in Palo Alto, according to court records.

Authorities didn't name the data centers the group is accused of plotting against, only that they belonged to "a prominent software company with offices in California and specializing in data analytics," according to court records.

A second set of targets was what Alvarez referred to as "[t]he physical chokepoints," including Internet Exchange Points and "Satellite Ground Stations" he believed California relied on for internet and communications, according to to the FBI.

Those targets were in San Jose and Los Angeles, according to court records.

"We have until the 4th," Alvarez texted, according to court records. "The 14th will give them the cause they need to bust out their robotic toys. We need to disable [COMPANY 1’s] arms."

The FBI explained in court filings that Alvarez meant the UFC attack would serve as a precursor to the attacks in California.

"Without their tech they are nothing," Perry responded to Alvarez.

But as Alvarez and Perry eagerly awaited the day of the attack, a mother in Danville, Ohio, was talking with police officers about her 19-year-old son, Tycen Proper, who had used $3,000 of his graduation money to buy camping gear, food, a new shotgun, a rifle, lots of "lots" of ammo, plate carriers and extra magazines, according to court records.

Proper had also recently quit his job and had been talking with people online about "missions" while planning to leave home the day before the planned attack, according to court records.

That group, the FBI said, was the Lion's Den chat.

Unraveling

When officers raided Proper's Ohio home on June 11, they found a journal where he had written down the names of 46 people, including celebrities and politicians, according to court records.

The government wants to control people, and a large group within it worships a demonic figure, whom they make child sacrifices to, Proper wrote in the journal, according to the FBI.

On his phone, they found the Signal group chat that laid out the detailed plot against the UFC event, which included maps of the area and tactical planning, according to court records.

The FBI tried interviewing Perry the following day. He denied knowing about the plot or being part of an online group associated with it, authorities said.

He refused law enforcement access to his home, and the agents left, authorities said.

The attack on the White House never happened, and the show went on without a hitch.

On June 14, law enforcement raided Alvarez's home and took his phone, where they found more evidence of the attack, authorities said.

In an interview with agents, he admitted to being "Shepherd" in the group chat, authorities said. The FBI says "Shepherd" led the chats and terror plots.

In the months that followed, federal agents raided Perry's home and interviewed him over his involvement, authorities said

They found he had removed himself from the group chat and deleted Signal, an app that offers end-to-end encryption, immediately after his visit from the FBI to avoid prosecution, authorities said.

More evidence revealed a text chain with a photo of him holding a gun, one with a handgun and another with a rifle, and another photo holding a gun with overlaid text reading, " This is the year," according to court records.

On Friday, following months of investigation, federal prosecutors charged Perry with possessing firearms and destroying records in a federal investigation.

Perry is currently in federal custody and is expected to appear in court Monday. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison for both charges, according to authorities.

Alvarez, meanwhile, faces charges of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, according to court records.