After the FBI director announced the suspected terrorist plot, a senior Secret Service official said the FBI was intentionally keeping the investigation secret.
FBI says plan to attack UFC Freedom 250 has been ‘completely canceled’
The FBI has foiled an alleged plot targeting a UFC event at the White House on June 14, Director Kash Patel said in a social media post.
WASHINGTON – A top Secret Service official said the agency intentionally kept the investigation in the dark about the June 14 attack on the Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the White House.
“This is an active conspiracy that is ongoing,” said Matthew Quinn, deputy director of the Secret Service. “There are still a number of suspects and we will continue to investigate until they are all identified.”
But FBI Director Kash Patel ended the effort’s secrecy in a social media post early on June 16, exposing the threat and claiming credit for thwarting it.
The FBI and our law enforcement partners were made aware of a potential threat to the UFC America 250 event in Washington on June 10. “Multiple individuals are currently in custody and the alleged planned attack was thwarted in cold blood,” Patel said in a statement on X at 6:50 a.m. ET.
A federal law enforcement official told USA TODAY that the Secret Service and other authorities had sought at least 10 additional people for questioning in addition to those already indicted before Patel’s announcement that the investigation made headlines.
This is the latest in a series of disclosures by Patel that detractors say are unfair disclosures of confidential investigative information that complicate an ongoing investigation.
Patel is a frequent user of social media, with 2 million followers on X, and has posted far more about ongoing FBI operations than previous directors such as James Comey and Christopher Wray.
The most commonly cited example is in September 2025, when Patel prematurely claimed a breakthrough in the assassination of prominent conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, claiming a “subject” had been arrested, only for authorities to release him hours later.
He has also made inaccurate statements about the high-profile disappearance of Nancy Guthrie and the shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas, sparking backlash from other law enforcement agencies.
“Don’t choke on your own smoke.”
When asked about Patel’s X post at an unrelated press conference on Tuesday, June 16, Quinn did not name the FBI director or his agency.
However, Secret Service No. 2 expressed frustration that details of the investigation were made public before the Secret Service intended. He also said the Secret Service, not the FBI, was the lead agency in the case, which is still ongoing.
“I’ll tell you a phrase I learned early in my career in the New York field office: ‘Don’t choke on your own smoke,'” Quinn told reporters. “Anyone who believes that that incident was conducted in a bubble (by the FBI) is naive. Let me tell you, the Secret Service was leading that investigation from the beginning.”
A federal law enforcement official who spoke to USA TODAY on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation said the entire case was intentionally filed in confidence to prevent details from leaking and to alert potential suspects to the ongoing urgent investigation.
At least five people have been charged in connection with the alleged conspiracy, including Theisen Proper, Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, Brian Omar Lore, Michael Alan Thomas, and Daniel K. Eskridge. The suspects were spread across the United States, living in states such as Missouri, Ohio, and California.
Plan to raid UFC event at White House
Court documents allege there was a large-scale plot to attack the June 14 event attended by President Donald Trump and senior Cabinet members, including Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Patel.
The Secret Service and FBI became aware of the threat to the UFC event when a relative of one of the suspects contacted local police in Ohio.
Federal law enforcement officials said the Secret Service’s Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit (ATIU) was able to identify the alleged communications between the conspirators after identifying the signal chats used by the suspects. Those plans included coming to Washington, D.C., and using drones and snipers to attack an event on the South Lawn of the White House, court documents allege.
In public remarks, Quinn told reporters: “Let me tell you that the investigation is ongoing. In order to maintain the integrity of the investigation and our security program, we have chosen not to divulge any information. Look, this was a serious threat. We take all threats of a major nature very seriously and will investigate until we can 100% verify that it is no longer a threat.”
Then, late Tuesday, the FBI issued a joint statement from FBI and Secret Service spokespeople saying, “The FBI and the U.S. Secret Service are proud of our strong working relationship. This investigation highlights that continuing partnership and would not have been possible without the great work and collaboration between our two agencies. This weekend’s thwarted attacks should send a message to all criminals that if they target Americans, they will be found and brought to justice.”
“I’m really worried because they try to take the credit.”
Congressional Democrats have harshly criticized Patel’s use of social media, including during the Kirk scandal.
“On the day of the shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, Secretary Patel again caused chaos on social media by falsely claiming that the shooter was in custody, and then had to backtrack with another social media post,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in September 2025.
“In his desire to take credit for discovering Mr. Kirk’s assassin, Mr. Patel violated one of the fundamentals of effective law enforcement: remaining silent during critical stages of an investigation and leaving the job to the experts,” Durbin said.
