A sixth man has been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to attack a UFC event held at the White House earlier this month. Prosecutors identified him as Jordan Rinker of Missouri, saying he conspired with five other men who were charged last week in the case.
According to prosecutors, the group put together a detailed and violent plan aimed at the high-profile event. The plotters allegedly planned to use drones equipped with explosives to force an evacuation from the White House event, turning the gathering into a scene of panic and chaos.
The alleged scheme did not stop there. Prosecutors say that, in the chaos that would have followed the forced evacuation, a team of snipers was then supposed to move in and open fire on everybody fleeing the scene, in what authorities described as a coordinated effort to cause mass casualties.
Rinker is accused of having conspired with the five other men already charged in the case. According to the allegations, at least one member of the group planned to drive to Washington from California, indicating that the suspects were prepared to travel across the country to take part in the plot.
The latest arrest adds to a case that centers on the UFC event staged at the White House earlier this month. Authorities had previously announced that they disrupted the alleged plot and arrested the other men, and the new arrest expands the group of suspects now facing prosecution.
With the sixth suspect now in custody, the case continues to move forward. The allegations describe an effort to strike a major public event at one of the most heavily guarded sites in the country, and the men face charges as prosecutors press ahead with the case against the alleged conspirators.
The case has since grown beyond that point. According to the account, prosecutors have now charged an eighth suspect in connection with the alleged plot, widening a group that had started with the men charged earlier as the investigation continued to uncover more people said to be linked to the scheme.
Prosecutors also restated how the attack was meant to unfold and what the accused are now facing. According to the account, the Justice Department says the men wanted to use drones to create a diversion and then use snipers to attack people running from the South Lawn of the White House, and all eight men are now facing life in prison.
The case has now reached a formal turning point with the announcement of charges against the whole group at once. According to the account, the Justice Department held a press conference to say that eight people now face terrorism charges over the thwarted alleged plot, and that all eight were charged together in a two-count indictment handed down in Ohio, moving the matter from a series of arrests toward a single, consolidated prosecution.
The indictment set out both the intended targets and the specific offences the defendants are accused of. According to the account, the alleged plan was to kill government officials and high-profile figures, including President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk, at the UFC Freedom 250 event held at the White House last month, and the charges allege that the group conspired to provide material support to terrorists, to commit murder on federal territory and to murder federal government officials, with the defendants due to appear in the Southern District of Ohio to answer the case.