Fireworks light up the sky at the end of the UFC Freedom 250 mixed martial arts event on the South Lawn of the White House on June 15, 2026 in Washington DC (POOL/SAUL LOEB)
Eight men accused of participating in a plot to stage a mixed martial arts (MMA) event celebrating Donald Trump’s 80th birthday at the White House have been charged with murder and terrorism, the Justice Department said.
The suspects, aged between 19 and 32, are accused of planning an attack that involved flying explosive-laden drones into the vicinity of an MMA show to force an evacuation and allow snipers to shoot down senior officials attending the event, according to prosecutors.
According to authorities, the attack targeted the US President, Vice President, federal officials and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who were not present at the event.
The department says the eight men arrested so far are charged together in the same case in Ohio. They face two charges: conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to commit murder and murder of a government official.
Defendants from different states used online chat rooms to plan the attack, recruit participants, and encourage each other to carry out the planned attack.
US President Donald Trump in the Octagon after the UFC Freedom 250 mixed martial arts tournament on the South Lawn of the White House, June 15, 2026 in Washington (AFP/Kent NISHIMURA)
On June 16, the Department of Justice announced the arrest and indictment of five men between the ages of 19 and 32 in several states (California, Nebraska, Missouri) days before the event.
Then, in late June, the FBI (federal police) arrested two more men: one in Washington state, the other in Missouri.
The eighth, a 21-year-old man named Chandler D. Skaggs who lives in West Virginia, was arrested “this week,” according to the Justice Department. He “would have been assigned as one of the snipers during the planned attack,” according to Thursday’s statement.
The American president celebrated his 80th birthday on June 14 by turning the White House lawn into an arena for MMA athletes in a spectacle with a strong political twist. More than 4,000 carefully selected guests sat around the cage.