{"id":96485,"date":"2026-07-16T10:32:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T14:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/two-men-plead-not-guilty-in-foiled-white-house-ufc-attack-plot\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T10:32:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T14:32:00","slug":"two-men-plead-not-guilty-in-foiled-white-house-ufc-attack-plot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/two-men-plead-not-guilty-in-foiled-white-house-ufc-attack-plot\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Men Plead Not Guilty in Foiled White House UFC Attack Plot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

COLUMBUS, Ohio \u2014 Two of eight men facing federal murder and terrorism conspiracy charges for their alleged involvement in a foiled attack on a UFC cage-fighting event held at the White House last month entered not guilty pleas in court Thursday.<\/p>

Tycen Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio, and Chandler Scaggs, 21, of Chapmanville, West Virginia, made their pleas before U.S. District Court Judge Edmund Sargus Jr. in Columbus. Both men, along with the six other defendants, face charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to commit murder on federal property and against a federal official.<\/p>

Judge Sargus scheduled their trial to begin September 14.<\/p>

U.S. Attorney Dominick Gerace II spoke with reporters last week following the group’s July 9 indictments, saying: “What would have happened or could have happened, that’s never going to be clear, because, thank God, there was an intervention here and this thing was disrupted. But, in my view, when I look at what’s been alleged there, it seems pretty likely that someone or multiple people were driving to Washington, D.C., to do something.”<\/p>

An attempt to reach Proper’s attorney for comment went unanswered. An attorney for Scaggs declined to make any statement.<\/p>

Court documents indicate the alleged conspiracy began taking shape in May. Members of the group reportedly stockpiled money, weapons, ammunition, body armor, explosives, drones, medical supplies, and communications gear. Their stated grievances included concerns about government corruption, water use by data centers, and the current administration’s handling of the Epstein files.<\/p>

The intended target was UFC Freedom 250, a cage-fighting event held on the South Lawn of the White House as part of the country’s 250th anniversary celebration. Law enforcement said they became aware of the potential threat four days before the event was set to take place.<\/p>

According to a federal affidavit, one of the defendants told investigators the group intended to send explosive-equipped drones into the crowd and then open fire on people as they fled the scene.<\/p>

The Justice Department announced charges against seven individuals from multiple states, including Ohio, Missouri, Washington, Nebraska, and California. Authorities said the suspects subscribed to fringe conspiracy theories and hoped the attack would bring down the government.<\/p>

Four of the alleged co-conspirators were charged in Missouri, Nebraska, and California during the weekend of the event, with two more charged roughly a week later in Washington and Missouri. Those individuals are still being transferred to Ohio, where all cases have been consolidated under Judge Sargus’ court. The defendants are expected to be tried together.<\/p>

Scaggs was the last person arrested in the case but was the first of the out-of-state defendants brought to Ohio.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two of eight men facing murder and terrorism conspiracy charges for an alleged plot to attack a UFC event at the White House have entered not guilty pleas in an Ohio federal court. Tycen Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio, and Chandler Scaggs, 21, of Chapmanville, West Virginia, appeared before a federal judge Thursday. Their trial has been scheduled for September 14.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":96484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[831],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/news-1784212320235.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-p6d","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":93511,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/8-men-indicted-in-foiled-drone-and-sniper-plot-against-white-house-ufc-event\/","url_meta":{"origin":96485,"position":0},"title":"8 Men Indicted in Foiled Drone and Sniper Plot Against White House UFC Event","author":"Admin","date":"July 9, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A federal grand jury in Ohio has indicted eight men on murder and terrorism conspiracy charges tied to a thwarted plot to attack a UFC cage-fighting event held at the White House in June. Prosecutors say the group planned to use explosive-laden drones and snipers to target high-profile figures at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "U.S. News"","block_context":{"text":"U.S. News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/us-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/news-1783636292056.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/news-1783636292056.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/news-1783636292056.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/news-1783636292056.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":93792,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/8-men-indicted-in-foiled-drone-and-sniper-plot-against-white-house-ufc-event-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":96485,"position":1},"title":"8 Men Indicted in Foiled Drone and Sniper Plot Against White House UFC Event","author":"Admin","date":"July 10, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A federal grand jury has indicted eight men on murder and terrorism conspiracy charges related to a planned drone and sniper attack targeting a UFC event held at the White House in June. Meanwhile, the U.S. and Iran exchanged military strikes Thursday, with the latest round of attacks appearing more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "U.S. News"","block_context":{"text":"U.S. News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/us-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/news-1783690489349.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/news-1783690489349.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/news-1783690489349.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/news-1783690489349.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":85367,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/two-more-arrested-in-alleged-plot-to-attack-trumps-white-house-ufc-event\/","url_meta":{"origin":96485,"position":2},"title":"Two More Arrested in Alleged Plot to Attack Trump’s White House UFC Event","author":"Admin","date":"June 22, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Federal authorities have arrested two additional suspects linked to an alleged plan to attack President Donald Trump's UFC event at the White House earlier this month. The plot, which was disrupted several days before the June 14 gathering, involved an alleged scheme to deploy explosive-laden drones and open fire on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "U.S. News"","block_context":{"text":"U.S. News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/us-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/news-1782171048469.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/news-1782171048469.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/news-1782171048469.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/news-1782171048469.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23533,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/columbus-woman-gets-life-sentences-for-fentanyl-murder-scheme\/","url_meta":{"origin":96485,"position":3},"title":"Columbus Woman Gets Life Sentences for Fentanyl Murder Scheme","author":"Admin","date":"February 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A 36-year-old Columbus woman received four consecutive life sentences for fatally poisoning four men with fentanyl during robbery attempts. Rebecca Auborn met victims for sex before drugging them to steal their belongings in crimes spanning 2022-2023.","rel":"","context":"In "U.S. News"","block_context":{"text":"U.S. News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/us-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/news-1771543957132.jpg?fit=1000%2C857&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/news-1771543957132.jpg?fit=1000%2C857&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/news-1771543957132.jpg?fit=1000%2C857&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/news-1771543957132.jpg?fit=1000%2C857&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":82838,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/fbi-foils-plot-to-attack-ufc-event-at-the-white-house\/","url_meta":{"origin":96485,"position":4},"title":"FBI Foils Plot to Attack UFC Event at the White House","author":"Admin","date":"June 17, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"FBI Director Kash Patel announced that federal agents successfully stopped a planned attack targeting Sunday's UFC event held at the White House. A former Homeland Security official weighed in on the disrupted threat.","rel":"","context":"In "U.S. News"","block_context":{"text":"U.S. News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/us-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/news-1781686844558.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":34262,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/five-men-face-federal-trial-in-miami-for-plot-to-kill-haitian-president\/","url_meta":{"origin":96485,"position":5},"title":"Five Men Face Federal Trial in Miami for Plot to Kill Haitian President","author":"Admin","date":"March 9, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Five defendants will face jury selection Monday in Miami federal court for their alleged roles in the 2021 murder of Haitian President Jovenel Mo\u00efse. The men are accused of planning the assassination from South Florida, with prosecutors saying they coordinated the attack that killed the leader at his home near\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "World News"","block_context":{"text":"World News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/world-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1773031971676.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1773031971676.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1773031971676.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1773031971676.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}