Two suspects pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges in the alleged terror plot targeting President Trump and other attendees at last month’s UFC showcase at the White House.
Tycen Proper of Ohio and Chandler Scaggs of West Virginia denied federal conspiracy charges in a scheme to use explosive drones and sniper fire to attack crowdgoers at the event on the South Lawn.
Federal agents foiled the plot when the parents of Mr. Proper, 19, alerted authorities that their son had discussed going on “hit and run missions,” which they interpreted as shooting up an area and then leaving.
“What would have happened or could have happened, that’s never going to be clear, because, thank God, there was an intervention here and this thing was disrupted,” U.S. Attorney Dominick Gerace II said last week. “But in my view, when I look at what’s been alleged there, it seems pretty likely that someone or multiple people were driving to Washington, D.C., to do something.”
Eight men from all over the country have been charged in connection to the plot, the latest attempt on Mr. Trump’s life.
The alleged conspirators expressed anti-government sentiments in encrypted group chats, while also blaming the Trump administration for mishandling the Epstein files and accusing data centers of depleting communities’ water supplies.
The FBI said the thwarted attack involved detonating drones over the makeshift stage on the South Lawn and then having snipers ambush panicked fightgoers as they fled.
Joining Mr. Trump at the event, which fell on his 80th birthday, were Vice President J.D. Vance and several Cabinet members, celebrities and active-duty military members.
About 4,300 people were gathered around the main stage while an additional 85,000 fans attended a watch party on the White House Ellipse.
The other men charged in the plot were arrested in California, Missouri, Nebraska and Washington state. The cases have been consolidated into one federal case in Ohio.
Mr. Proper’s and Mr. Scaggs’ next court date is scheduled for Sept. 14.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.
