8th person charged in alleged plot against White House UFC event
Conspirators allegedly plotted to fly drones with explosives to disrupt the UFC event June 14 and then shoot attendees as they fled.
Bart JansenA Chicago man has been charged with obstructing the federal investigation into what authorities say was a thwarted plot to attack the Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the White House.
Alexander Iniguez Mercado, 20, was indicted June 25 in federal court in Illinois on allegations he served as an administrator of a group on Signal, an app for encrypted messages allegedly used to plan a violent attack on the June 14 spectacle.
Mercado is one of at least eight suspects charged in connection with a suspected plan to attack UFC Freedom 250, an event President Donald Trump hosted on the South Lawn of the White House. Arrests have been made in Ohio, Missouri, Nebraska and California.
“Obstructing justice in a law enforcement investigation into a planned violent domestic attack is a profoundly serious offense,” said Andrew Boutrous, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
According to the charging documents in other cases, members of the conspiracy planned to fly small drones laden with explosives near the UFC event, forcing an evacuation. Then, the documents say, conspirators planned for snipers to shoot attendees as they fled.
The FBI says Mercado was administrator of a Signal messaging group that included “members who appeared to communicate with others regarding the planned UFC Event attack,” the indictment says.
An FBI agent called Mercado the day before the UFC event and informed him about the investigation into the threats. The FBI agent asked Mercado whether he planned to travel to Washington, DC, and he denied it, according to the indictment.
The brief conversation was disconnected. Mercado allegedly removed the Signal app from his phone after the call, which prevented agents from retrieving the encrypted messages, according to the indictment.
Mercado's initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Fuentes in Illinois was set for 3 p.m. CT on June 26. If convicted, Mercado faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.