A federal grand jury in Columbus, Ohio, returned a two-count indictment on Thursday against eight American men, charging them with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to commit murder on federal territory. The charges stem from an alleged plot to attack the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Freedom 250 event held on the South Lawn of the White House on 14 June, which coincided with President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. The Justice Department stated that the defendants, aged 19 to 32, planned to use explosive-laden drones to strike the north side of the building, funneling attendees toward a designated exit where snipers would open fire. The indictment consolidates earlier criminal complaints and adds an eighth defendant, Chandler D. Scaggs, who prosecutors say was assigned a sniper role.

According to the Justice Department and FBI affidavits, the alleged conspiracy began in May when the group started stockpiling firearms, ammunition, body armour, explosives, drones, and communications gear. The defendants are accused of organising a tiered structure, with “tier one” participants committing to break the law and potentially go into hiding. Prosecutors allege the group communicated via encrypted platforms including Signal and SimpleX, as well as Discord, TikTok, and Instagram, and that some members underwent marksmanship and combat training in California. The intended targets, the indictment states, included President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, billionaire Elon Musk, and other unnamed “high-value” officials. Law enforcement learned of the threat on 10 June, four days before the event, after a concerned mother of one suspect contacted police about his accumulation of weapons and troubling online conversations. Seven suspects were arrested across multiple states shortly thereafter; Scaggs was taken into custody this week in West Virginia.

International coverage of the indictment has diverged in emphasis. Iranian news agencies, including Khabar Online and Hamshahri Online, framed the charges as an American claim, using language such as “claimed” and “alleged” to describe the plot, and headlining the story as a US assertion of having foiled an assassination attempt. Russian outlets Kommersant and Interfax reported the indictment in factual terms, detailing the procedural steps and the defendants’ alleged fringe conspiracy theories, while noting the maximum penalties of 15 years to life in prison. In Israel, the Jerusalem Post highlighted the inclusion of Prime Minister Netanyahu on the target list, though it noted he did not attend the event. Western media, including ABC News and Fox News, provided extensive detail on the tier system, the role of the suspect’s mother in alerting authorities, and the early not-guilty plea announced by the attorney for the youngest defendant, 19-year-old Tycen Proper.

The indictment replaces a patchwork of initial criminal complaints filed in multiple federal districts, centralising the case in Ohio where the first arrest occurred. All eight defendants remain in custody. If convicted on the murder conspiracy charge, each faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment; the material-support charge carries up to 15 years. Attorneys for Proper and Scaggs have indicated they are reviewing the evidence, with Proper’s counsel stating he will plead not guilty. The case now moves toward arraignment and pre-trial proceedings, with no trial date yet set. The FBI has said the investigation continues to examine a broader network of potential co-conspirators, though the immediate threat was neutralised before the event took place without incident.