Eighth man arrested in UFC terror plot

Federal prosecutors said Thursday that a total of eight men have been indicted for allegedly plotting to attack the UFC’s Freedom 250 event. Prosecutors accused the men of a failed drone and sniper attack at the June event at the White House. The indictment, filed Thursday in Ohio, charged all eight men with two federal counts. The first was conspiracy to provide materials to support terrorists, and the second was conspiracy to murder a federal official and to do so on federal government territory.

Last month, the Department of Justice filed a series of criminal complaints against seven men in districts across the country. Thursday’s indictment streamlined and replaced the original charges, the DOJ said. The latest indictment also added defendant Chandler Scaggs. The 21-year-old West Virginia resident was allegedly assigned to be one of the snipers in the plotted attack, according to the DOJ.

An attorney for Scaggs told ABC News that he was still reviewing the government’s evidence and declined to comment further. All men are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

What were the details of the terror plot? The men reportedly planned to use drones to create a diversion, and then use snipers to attack attendees at the event, the DOJ said. The men hoped to attack targets such as President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, Elon Musk, and the Prime Minister of Israel, according to prosecutors. In May, the men began gathering firearms, ammunition, body armor, explosives, drones, and other equipment for the attack. Law enforcement officials discovered the potential threat days before the event was set to occur on June 14.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report for more details on the alleged plot against the UFC event.