WASHINGTON — The FBI thwarted an explosive drone attack targeting Sunday’s UFC Freedom 250 event on the White House South Lawn and have already taken five suspects into custody, officials told The Post Tuesday.
The multi-phase terror attack allegedly involved using explosive-laden drone aircraft to strike buildings in the vicinity of the event, sparking mass panic and driving the fleeing crowd toward a sniper team poised to pick victims off, the officials said.
A “second wave” of attackers then allegedly planned to storm the White House gate, the officials added.
Fox News Digital first reported on the attack plan.
The plot was “stopped cold” on June 10 after investigators executed a search warrant in Cincinnati, where the first arrest was made, FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement.
Some of the suspects traveled to Fredericksburg, Va. on June 12 or 13 to make preparations for the attack.
Upon investigating a suspect’s iPhone, authorities found at least 23 users of encrypted chat app Signal involved in discussing parameters of what could have been a devastating terror attack in the heart of the nation’s capital.
A suspect told investigators the goal of the attack was to target “capitalist elites,” “billionaires” and politicians who received money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), officials also said.
“While the result represented the best of investigative work, it was also nothing out of the ordinary for this law enforcement team — we are built to detect, respond to, and bring to justice those who threaten the lives of American citizens — particularly during large gatherings like the historic UFC 250 fight,” Patel later wrote on X praising the coordinated law enforcement effort.
The high-profile combat sports extravaganza coincided with President Trump’s 80th birthday, and was attended by around 4,300 people, including 1,200 active-duty service members.
An estimated 80,000 to 85,000 more fans attended a ticketed watch party on the Ellipse just south of the executive mansion, while thousands more without tickets gathered on the National Mall to try to catch a view of the seven-fight card on giant screens.
