How A Radicalized Teen Masterminded The UFC White House Attack Plot

A teen became radicalized to the point of allegedly masterminding a plot to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House Sunday night.

Tycen Proper, with a group of nearly two dozen others, allegedly began prepping to carry out the attack with explosive-carrying drones before federal authorities learned of his desires and took him into custody.

Proper’s own mother, an Ohio-based cosmetologist, called authorities after his recent firearms purchases and communications with random individuals online who claimed to be military veterans and Christians, according to a criminal complaint viewed by The Daily Wire. The group allegedly planned to detonate explosive-laden drones over the UFC arena and to open fire as the crowd would evacuate.

Proper’s parents told law enforcement that their son had recently quit his job and started messaging online with unknown individuals about plans to execute “missions” and “recons,” according to the complaint. Family members also said the 19-year-old had become more isolated and had recently made “sympathetic comments about Adolf Hitler” while “posting anti-Semitic comments on Facebook,” the complaint said.

Proper’s mother has regularly posted about her son online and recently shared a photo from his graduation from the Knox County Career Center, saying she was “proud” of him.

Proper used $3,000 of his graduation money to purchase “several boxes of ammunition (estimated by law enforcement to be in the thousands of rounds of ammunition), two plate carriers with AR-style magazines, an AR-style rifle, and a bullpup rifle painted with an American flag,” which were later turned over to law enforcement, according to the complaint.

From the posts, it appears that she raised him in a devout Christian home and told federal authorities that she believed the individuals tied to the plot preyed upon her son by “using religion to manipulate and influence him.”

Danielle Proper on Facebook

In another post, Proper is seen wearing a shirt with the Bible verse “It is finished” on it.

Proper dubbed himself “a professional person, a geek,” adding “I’m very good with computers” in a 2021 TikTok post. That same year, he posted a video of himself playing “Squad,” which he described as a “realistic tactical shooter game. “I’ve been posting survival videos, shooter tactical videos called Squad … I’m posting total war videos,” he said in another TikTok video.

At the time, he also said in one video that he’s “not a type of person that gets into politics or any drama ever.”

When authorities searched Proper’s phone, they found Signal groups “that laid out detailed plans” to carry out an attack in Washington, D.C., with detailed maps highlighting sniper locations and potential drone launch locations. Proper later confessed to investigators that he took part in “planning … a coordinated attack” during the UFC event at the White House and admitted to being one of the group’s leaders.

Proper wrote in one of the chats on or about May 13 that he “got a possible target Marsha Blackburn is senator for Tennessee,” saying they should target her for taking “money from the Israel pro Israel lobby and supports them. ”

On May 31, he sent messages saying, “These are people we’re going to focus on,” before sharing photos of Senator Jim Justice, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Rep. Carol Miller, and Rep. Riley Moore. The four images appeared to have been taken from the website “TrackAIPAC.com” and appeared to show how much cash each lawmaker received “from pro-Israel PACS.”

Proper was arrested in Ohio and hit with four criminal charges, including conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, attempted murder against any officer or employee of the United States, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and receipt or transfer of a firearm used to commit a felony, according to the complaint.

At least 23 individuals are believed to have been part of the network plotting the attack. Some of the members were said to have “expressed ultra-religious and antigovernment sentiments, specifically citing grievances about government corruption, the handling of the Epstein files, data centers taking up all the water in communities, and other government actions.”

Along with Proper, authorities arrested four others, including Michael Alan Thomas and Bryan Omar Roa in California, for allegedly taking part in the plot.