Tycen Proper, 19, received at least $3,000 in graduation money from his family but continued living with his parents and spending time online. He quit his job to focus on a project with internet friends. His mother saw him studying maps of Washington DC. He spent the money on a rifle, shotgun, body armor, and ammunition. His parents told police they feared what he was planning. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
Two weeks ago, the US Department of Justice announced it had foiled a plot by Proper and co-conspirators to assassinate Donald Trump and other elected officials at a UFC event at the White House. As of Friday, eight people from around the country are in custody, all men in their 20s or early 30s. Investigators say at least 19 people were involved. Many met through TikTok, then moved to encrypted apps Signal and SimpleX, sorting themselves into "tiers" of risk tolerance. Some met for tactical training.
The plotters planned to stage a demonstration near the White House to distract law enforcement. While Trump and others watched the fights, they would bomb the event with drone-borne explosives, causing a panicked evacuation toward an area where marksmen would pick off "high-value targets." A "second wave" would storm the White House. One alleged conspirator called it "a fucking bloodbath."
The story was partly eclipsed by news of the Iran war and the World Cup. Yet the facts are shocking: the plotters had far-right views but aimed to kill Republican officials. They chose targets with help from a leftwing website tracking donations to Aipac. One alleged ringleader, Abraham Alvarez, 31, is reportedly an undocumented immigrant from Mexico.
The Trump administration praised the FBI but downplayed the threat. JD Vance said: "The plot was, like, not that advanced. They had not really done that much planning. Thank God we have good law enforcement." Conservative media tried to paint the plotters as leftists. The Federalist argued one plotter "parroted Democrat conspiracy theories about President Trump protecting child predators connected to Jeffrey Epstein."
Journalist Michael Edison Hayden said the plot is ideologically coherent: far-right online communities are often hostile to Trump and the MAGA movement. The plotters are "anti-government, and the government happens to be run by Republicans." They likely hold antisemitic and accelerationist views.
Investigators say the plotters were enraged by Trump's alliance with Israel. Proper praised Adolf Hitler on social media. Another plotter, Michael Alan Thomas, 32, believed "the U.S. government is run by an elite group who sacrifice infants, are involved with Epstein, and are protected by Trump." He blamed Jewish people and Israel for the war with Iran. The plotters hoped the attack would trigger a second American Revolution.
Journalist Jonathan Larsen argued the Justice Department downplayed Christian extremism. Proper's mother said her son had become more religious and that friends manipulated his Christian zeal. He joined a "group online of individuals who represented themselves as ex-military and that may share some Christian-based ideology," expressing "ultra-religious and anti-government sentiments." The plotters used biblical language about "shepherding."