Law enforcement officials disrupted a planned attack targeting President Donald Trump’s UFC cage-fighting show at the White House this past weekend, according to court papers unsealed Tuesday.

Plotters Had Fringe Conspiracy Theories

Investigators recovered high-powered firearms from several of the suspects and reviewed encrypted text messages between roughly 20 participants who shared detailed maps and aerial photographs of the area and discussed the need for a ‘safe house’ and escape routes after the intended attack.

The plan called for the use of drones that would be detonated over the north side of the White House, prompting an evacuation into the line of fire of waiting snipers in an attack designed to ‘jumpstart’ a revolution, authorities said.

Suspects Arrested

Five people from states including Ohio, Missouri, Nebraska, and California were arrested on federal charges, the Justice Department said. The suspects had been communicating with each other since last March through a TikTok group and later through the encrypted messaging app Signal.

One of the suspects, Tycen Proper, a 19-year-old Ohio man, told officials he participated in the planning of an attack. Proper said he had been planning to drive with weapons and body armor to a meet-up spot in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Another suspect, Michael Alan Thomas, 32, of Pinon Hills, California, told officials he viewed himself as ‘the planner and advisor for the group,’ and while he was not willing to take action himself, wanted to guide and instruct others on how to carry out attacks designed to overthrow the government.

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.