2 more suspects arrested in alleged plot to attack White House UFC event – National
Two more people have been arrested in connection with what authorities say was a planned attack targeting U.S. President Donald Trump’s UFC cage-fighting show at the White House earlier this month.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, William Lee Spartacus Falkner was arrested midday Friday. Falkner is charged by criminal complaint in the Western District of Washington with conspiracy to commit murder.
Jordan W. Rincker, 28, of St. Joseph, Mo., was arrested Sunday and is charged with conspiracy to commit murder, the U.S. Department of Justice added in a press release.
According to the detailed complaint filed in the Western District of Washington, law enforcement first learned of the plot to attack the event when the parents of a co-conspirator in Ohio, identified as Tycen C. Proper, alerted police to their son’s purchase of weapons and concerning online activities.
“As investigators reviewed cell data and online communications, they identified a number of coconspirators including Falkner. The communications indicate that Falkner has experience with drones, both manufacturing and piloting them. In the communications, he discussed loading explosives on the drones and how to configure and fly them for maximum destructive impact,” the U.S. Department of Justice said.
The plan apparently called for drones to attack the event on one side to force those in attendance to try to exit from the other side of the event, where they could be shot by co-conspirators with sniper rifles and other weapons, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
“Falkner and another had been discussing their ‘Work trip’ prior to the scheduled UFC fight. After the arrests of some of the co-conspirators, Falkner and others communicated that the ‘work trip’ was cancelled,” according to the press release.
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One of the arrested suspects said the goal of the conspirators was to cause enough chaos to bring about the overthrow of the U.S. government, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
The criminal complaint filed in the Western District of Missouri alleges that Rincker accepted US$1,200 in cash from co-conspirator Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, of Omaha, Neb., to disperse payment to other co-conspirators involved in the plot.
The complaint alleges that Rincker sent Bryan Omar Roa, 24, of Calimesa, Calif., $100 through CashApp for gas to drive from California to Washington, D.C., to pick up the “drone operator” for the attack.
Alvarez and Roa were arrested and charged last week with being involved in the UFC event plot.
According to court documents, Rincker also gave a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun to Alvarez during an in-person meeting in Omaha.
While executing a search warrant of Rincker’s home and storage unit, investigators found an FN Reflex 9-mm pistol with a magazine and loose 9-mm rounds, a 3D-printed Glock-style pistol with a 3D-printed magazine and 3D-printed ammunition, night vision goggles, 3D-printed gun parts, among other items, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
“Mr. Proper appreciates the serious nature of the charges currently pending against him and will address them appropriately in court at the right time,” Proper’s lawyer, Joe Patituce, told The Associated Press on Monday. “For now, we are going to move the case forward one step at a time.”
The new arrests bring the total arrests in connection with the alleged plot to seven after five people were arrested last week.
“Law enforcement continues to do what it does — move to disrupt and hold accountable those allegedly plotting to do harm on the White House Grounds on June 14,” acting attorney general Todd Blanche said.
“Each and every day, the FBI and their federal, state and local law enforcement partners, along with U.S. Attorneys offices across the country, safeguard American communities and our nation’s security.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said the arrests are the “latest result of the FBI, teaming up with our great partners, to identify and apprehend those who allegedly wanted to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event.”
“In just over a week we have executed a multi-state operation that could not have been possible without our Justice Department prosecutors, the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, Secret Service, and our state and local law enforcement partners to once again stop a potentially deadly plot before alleged criminals could act,” Patel said.
“This collective resolve demonstrates to anyone who threatens the lives of American citizens — this FBI and our partners will find you no matter where you hide, and you will face justice.”
Assistant Attorney General for National Security (NSD) John A. Eisenberg said the NSD will continue “to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to ensure that all individuals who sought to carry out this potential attack are identified and brought to justice.”
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd for the Western District of Washington said this was a “geographically wide-ranging conspiracy.”
“The investigation has required round-the-clock coordination to identify and arrest those responsible. Here in the Pacific Northwest, the FBI and the Mason County Sheriff’s Office moved swiftly and carefully to ensure any threat to the public was neutralized,” Floyd added.
The FBI is investigating the case.
— with files from The Associated Press
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