2 more arrested in alleged plot to attack UFC event at White House

Two more men have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to attack a UFC event on the White House grounds with explosive drones and sniper teams, according to federal prosecutors.

The arrests bring the number of people charged in the case to seven, after five men were charged last week in what prosecutors described as a planned mass-casualty attack targeting UFC Freedom 250, which was held June 14 on the White House grounds.

William Lee Spartacus Falkner was arrested Friday in Washington state and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Jordan W. Rincker, 28, of St. Joseph, Missouri, was arrested Sunday and charged with the same offense.

Both men appeared in federal court Monday. Falkner appeared in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Washington, while Rincker appeared in federal court in Kansas City, Missouri.

Federal prosecutors said the FBI first learned of the alleged plot after the parents of Tycen C. Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio, contacted police about their son’s weapons purchases and concerning online activity. Investigators later identified several alleged co-conspirators through cell data and online communications.

According to prosecutors, Falkner had experience manufacturing and piloting drones and discussed loading drones with explosives, as well as how to configure and fly them for maximum destructive impact.

The plan allegedly called for drones to strike one side of the event and force people to flee toward another side, where co-conspirators armed with sniper rifles and other weapons would fire on them.

Falkner and another person had discussed a “work trip” before the UFC event. After several arrests in the case, Falkner and others allegedly said the trip had been canceled.

One person arrested in the case told investigators the goal was to create enough chaos to bring about the overthrow of the U.S. government, according to prosecutors.

Rincker is accused of accepting $1,200 in cash from Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, of Omaha, Nebraska, to distribute money to others involved in the plot. Prosecutors said Rincker sent $100 through Cash App to Bryan Omar Roa, 24, of Calimesa, California, for gas so Roa could drive from California to Washington, D.C., to pick up the “drone operator.”

Alvarez and Roa were among the five men charged last week. Prosecutors previously described Alvarez, who allegedly used the name “Shepherd” in encrypted chats, as a key organizer who posted maps showing drone launch points, sniper positions and escape routes around the White House grounds.

Rincker also allegedly gave Alvarez a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun during a meeting in Omaha. Prosecutors said Alvarez gave Rincker a ballistic plate, face shield, 3D printer, printing filament, night vision goggles, binoculars, a wire checker and a minicomputer.

Investigators later searched Rincker’s home and storage unit and found multiple firearms, 3D-printed gun parts, night vision goggles, a gas mask, a thermal imaging scope, a ballistic plate, a plate carrier and off-grid mesh network devices, according to prosecutors.

The five men charged last week were identified as Proper; Roa; Michael Alan Thomas, 32, of Pinon Hills, California; Daniel K. Eskridge, 32, of Kidder, Missouri; and Alvarez.

Prosecutors have said members of the group discussed explosive drones, sniper teams, escape routes, attacks on power grids and possible assassinations of lawmakers and prominent business executives.

Conspiracy to commit murder carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. The FBI is investigating the case.