Lawmakers on Alleged Hit List for White House UFC Event Respond After Arrests

Members of Congress are responding after law enforcement arrested people who allegedly put them on a list of targets to attack during a White House event.

Tycen Proper, 19, told investigators on June 11 that he was plotting with others to attack the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event at the White House on June 14, according to charging documents. He said he and others planned to set off explosives using drones at certain locations to force attendees to flee a certain way, putting them within sight of waiting snipers.

Targets included Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), Reps. Carol Miller (R-W.Va.), Riley Moore (R-W.Va.), and West Virginia Delegate Tristan Leavitt, according to the interview with Proper and other information obtained by investigators.

“It is incredibly chilling that this suspect named me as a potential target along with other lawmakers,” Blackburn wrote in a June 16 post on X. “I will not let maniacs like this one deter me from celebrating or serving this great nation, and I am grateful to law enforcement for keeping us safe.”

Proper said the targets were identified for their support of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which promotes a strong relationship between the United States and Israel.

“These are the people we’re going to focus on,” Proper was quoted as saying.

A review of Proper’s phone showed, according to the FBI, that he told co-conspirators on May 13, “I got a possible target Marsha Blackburn is senator for Tennessee.” When asked why, he allegedly said, “She’s taken money from the Israel pro Israel lobby [sic] and supports them.”

Proper and others were arrested days before the UFC event, and officials said the event was never at risk.

Proper’s court-appointed public defender has not returned a request for comment. A judge ordered him held pending a detention hearing scheduled for June 17. The public defender on June 16 said Proper agreed to remain in custody pending final resolution of the charges against him.

Moore, in a post on X, thanked FBI Director Kash Patel and law enforcement agencies involved in stopping the plot.

“The FBI and Capitol Police’s swift actions kept us safe from this direct threat against our lives, and I am forever grateful to these brave men and women,” he said. “I also pray for the perpetrators of this horrific plot. May they have a conversion of the heart, repent, and find salvation in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.”

Another man charged in the plot, Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, allegedly sent a message to other individuals on June 11 that referenced how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly planned to attend the event at the White House.

“Targets confirmed,” Alvarez wrote, according to the FBI. “1. 2. VP 3. N 4. Musk.”

An FBI special agent said that 1 likely referred to President Donald Trump, 2 likely referred to Vice President JD Vance, N likely referred to Netanyahu, and 4 likely referred to Elon Musk.

“President Trump and the entire Administration are grateful to the FBI, Secret Service, and every heroic member of law enforcement who works tirelessly to keep us safe,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a June 16 post on X. “Thanks to their efforts, UFC Freedom 250 will be remembered as one of the greatest sporting events in history.”

Alvarez’s public defender declined to comment.