Eight men accused in an alleged plot to attack a White House mixed martial arts fight hosted by President Donald Trump in June have been indicted on murder and terrorism conspiracy charges, the Department of Justice said.
The suspects, ranging in age from 19 to 32, were accused of planning to used armed drones to attack the event on the White House South Lawn, with snipers firing on “high value targets” in the chaos, prosecutors have said.
Law enforcement officials said they foiled the plot in the lead-up to the June 14 “UFC Freedom 250” event, which coincided with Trump’s 80th birthday and ultimately took place without incident.
It attracted 4,000 fans to the fight in a temporary arena called “The Claw” that towered over the White House.
The eight alleged plotters were charged Thursday in a two-count federal indictment in Columbus, Ohio, the Justice Department said.
They were accused of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to commit murder on federal government territory and to murder a federal government official.
The federal charges returned by a grand jury replace initial charges filed by prosectors in various legal jurisdictions around the country.
Prosecutors said the plotters, who hailed from various states, had met in online chat groups to plan the attack, recruit members and encourage each other to carry out the assault.
The eighth suspect, 21-year-old Charles Scaggs of West Virginia, was arrested this week and had allegedly been assigned to be a sniper, prosecutors said.
The White House is one of the most heavily guarded sites in the world, ringed with anti-aircraft capabilities, blanketed by surveillance, and staffed with specially trained response units.
The “UFC Freedom 250” event kicked off this year’s festivities for the 250th anniversary of the declaration of US independence.
Trump has faced several assassination attempts in recent years, most recently in April when a gunman tried to storm a gala dinner hosted by the White House Correspondents’ Association that Trump was attending.
