Federal prosecutors have charged a local man, whom they describe as the drone mastermind, in connection with an alleged terror plot aimed at the White House. He appeared before a federal judge as authorities laid out the details of what they called a thwarted plan to carry out an attack at the highest levels of the government, with the suspect facing a charge of conspiracy to commit murder.
According to investigators, the plot targeted the UFC event held at the White House on June 14th. Prosecutors allege the man was one of more than a dozen people spread across the United States who took part in coordinating the scheme. The case has drawn national attention because of the scale of the alleged conspiracy and the high-profile target involved.
Authorities say the group planned to fly drones equipped with explosives over the event, with the aim of luring attendees into the path of the attack. Officials warned that, had the plan gone forward, it could have caused a mass casualty event at the White House, underscoring how seriously investigators have treated the threat posed by the alleged conspirators.
Court documents indicate that the man communicated online with his co-conspirators using messaging apps such as Telegram. In one exchange cited by prosecutors, he wrote that he was in the Pacific Northwest and had people in low places making the drones for him, adding that the more drones, the better. He was also described as knowledgeable about how much weight drones could carry, about shielding them from interference, and about several manufacturers.
Investigators say the alleged plot began to unravel after a 19-year-old co-conspirator was arrested in Ohio. From that point, the case broke open, leading investigators to suspects in several locations across the country. Officials described it as a broad and far-reaching conspiracy involving many people and many jurisdictions, with one of the threads leading to Mason County in Washington state.
On Friday, the FBI took the man into custody while he was on the road. Officials said the timing of the operation was moved up in part because of Seattle hosting a United States World Cup match, citing the potential threat he posed and everything else that was happening in the city at the time as reasons to act when they did rather than wait.
If he is convicted on the charges he now faces, the man could be sentenced to life in prison. During his court appearance, a federal judge ordered that he be held without bail, rejecting requests from his attorney for his release as the case moves forward through the federal court system.