Capitol Police warned of drone plot against UFC event a month before FBI arrests

The U.S. Capitol Police anticipated a drone attack on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Freedom 250 event at the White House before the FBI broke up a plot to do exactly that, according to documents obtained by Reason.

An intelligence assessment issued on May 20 noted the possibility of "nefarious actors plotting to use weaponized drones" or firing from "high vantage points" against UFC spectators. One month later, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd announced the first arrest in "a plot to murder members of the federal government" involving a combined drone and sniper assault.

White House Expansion Argument

The Trump administration has cited the alleged attack plot as justification for a $600 million expansion of the White House. However, approximately half the cost will come from American taxpayers, despite administration claims to the contrary.

In a June 16 letter to the D.C. Court of Appeals, Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate wrote: "This Project will support a highly sophisticated Drone Port and Sniper Nests atop the Ballroom that would destroy any effort to launch such an attack." The court is hearing a lawsuit filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation against the project.

The FBI announcement and the newly disclosed Capitol Police document indicate that traditional police work—rather than expensive defensive structures or mass surveillance—was sufficient to protect the White House.

How the Plot Was Uncovered

Similar to the case of Charlie Kirk's alleged assassin, the suspected drone attackers were identified after a family member proactively contacted authorities.

According to the government's indictment, authorities learned of the drone plot on June 10, when an Ohio woman called police regarding her 19-year-old son's "firearms purchases and communicating with certain individuals online." The FBI searched the home and interrogated the son, who admitted to planning a mass assassination of politicians with friends from a TikTok group.

Authorities have arrested a total of eight suspects across the country, some of whom allegedly purchased weapons and made travel arrangements. To date, two have pleaded not guilty, while others have not yet entered a plea.

Intelligence Assessment Details

The Capitol Police intelligence assessment was not based on any special foreknowledge of the plot. (Reason obtained the document from a fusion center—a liaison office between the Department of Homeland Security and local police—under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act.)

The intelligence bureau simply deduced an obvious threat: "High-ranking government officials attending [250th anniversary] events present attractive targets for violent extremist attacks and ideologically-motivated disruptions." Noting that "drone incursions during such special events are most likely to come from unwitting operators," the assessment cited several past instances of failed "nefarious actors plotting to use weaponized drones."

Drone Restrictions During Major Events

During the soccer World Cup, which took place across multiple U.S. cities in the month following Freedom 250, the FBI seized at least 700 civilian drones for violating flight restrictions. Federal authorities impose an automatic three-nautical-mile no-fly zone around major sports events for both manned and remote-controlled aircraft.

With 326 events associated with the World Cup, there were numerous opportunities for hobbyists to accidentally enter restricted airspace. Critics in the drone industry have described the sporting-related restrictions as overly broad for years. Nevertheless, the SAFER Skies Act of 2026 further tightened these restrictions, and the plot against UFC Freedom has reinforced calls for continued enforcement.