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FBI Disrupts alleged explosive-drone plot targeting White House UFC event | Fox News
Alleged Ringleader Is An Illegal Alien Granted "Dreamer" Status By Obama | National Review
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FBI Thwarted An Attack On The White House: Glenn Beck Show
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Trump Administration officials have confirmed that the FBI and its law enforcement partners disrupted an alleged plot targeting this weekend’s UFC Freedom 250 event in Washington, D.C. Department of Homeland Security officials confirmed Thursday that the alleged ringleader of the group that planned the attack, Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, is an illegal alien from Mexico who was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status under the Obama administration.

Five people were in custody as of Monday, including Alvarez and four alleged co-conspirators, and investigators identified 23 people as part of a potential network of plotters using a Signal chat to plan the attack. The alleged plan involved using explosive-laden drones to hit buildings near the event, force a mass evacuation and steer crowds toward a pre-staged sniper team, officials said. A "second wave" was then allegedly planned to storm the White House gate, according to officials.

Investigators later uncovered Signal chats in which multiple people allegedly discussed attacking the UFC event. An initial review of one suspect’s iPhone identified at least 23 Signal users discussing pre-operational activity, officials said.

This planned attack together with the recent appearance of unidentified drones over Fort McNair—the Army base where Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth reside—has raised new alarms about the vulnerability to low‑cost unmanned aircraft (drones) of U.S. military installations; critical infrastructure; and large, public gatherings, such as sporting events and rallies. 

Drone expert John Ferguson, Founder and Chairman of Saxon Aerospace and Saxon Unmanned, says these incidents expose a “massive blind spot” in America’s defense posture. Ferguson, a Marine Corps veteran and designer of long‑range unmanned aircraft systems used by major clients worldwide, has warned for years that even inexpensive consumer drones can be weaponized with explosives to conduct terror attacks. “People don’t understand how dangerous this is,” Ferguson said. “When unknown drones are flying over critical infrastructure, strategic assets, or large public gatherings, that’s not curiosity — that’s a potential terrorist attack. It means someone is probing our defenses...or worse.”

According to Ferguson, counter‑drone operations near major cities are far more complicated than the public realizes. Jamming frequencies can interfere with civilian aircraft. High‑energy lasers and microwave systems can’t be used in dense airspace in some cases. And traditional radar often fails to detect small, unmanned aircraft in a lot of cases.  “We have to be extremely careful,” he explained. “If you jam the wrong frequency, you could disrupt a manned aircraft. If you fire a laser, you risk collateral damage. The tools we have are limited — and adversaries know it.”

Ferguson notes that the threat is not limited to nation states. Any individual with a $3,000 drone from a big‑box store can outfit it with explosives, essentially creating a guided missile, or use it to collect sensitive data over a military base. Modern drones can use GPS to lock on to a specific location and fly there. They also can map buildings, measure elevations for missile targeting, track personnel movements, and transmit data in near real time. “If someone is flying a DJI drone over a U.S. base, that data is going straight to China,” Ferguson said. “That’s not speculation — that’s how the system is designed. Data is the new battlefield. We’ve been in an information war for years, and whoever controls the data controls the advantage.”
 

Although FBI has taken into custody and charged several of the 23 members of the Signal chat targeting the UFC Freedom250 event, the Pentagon has not publicly identified who was operating the drones over Fort McNair or in similar incidents reported at other installations, including a Louisiana Air Force base that detected multiple unauthorized drones earlier this year.

Ferguson says the pattern is unmistakable: “This is a real threat to America. All it takes is the wrong person with the right drone. We need layered detection, rapid identification, and a serious national strategy for counter‑drone defense. Because right now, the people flying over our bases are getting away with it — and they shouldn’t be.”

• China has a long history of embedding transmitters inside components that look like standard PCB board components.
• Flash drives and consumer electronics can be compromised to exfiltrate data.
• “We’ve been in World War III for years — it’s the information war. Whoever controls the data controls the battlefield.”

• You can’t simply jam drones near major cities — There is a risk interfering with civilian aircraft.
• It is difficult to use lasers or microwave systems near populated areas.
• Counter‑drone defense must account for airspace congestion, civilian safety, and friendly aircraft.

• Most public venues and critical infrastructure and many military installations do not have effective no‑fly enforcement for small, unmanned aircraft.
• Drones can slip through gaps in radar and airspace monitoring.
• “If someone is flying a DJI drone over a U.S. base, that data is going to China immediately. That’s not speculation — that’s how the system works.”

• The planned UFC Freedom250 attack was conducted by a loose network of left-wing radicals with a Marxist animus toward "billionaires." Think Antifa with drones.
• Any hostile nation, proxy group, or lone actor with a consumer drone can conduct surveillance.
• Social media and other Internet communications platforms can be used to coordinate such attacks.

• Unidentified drones over bases like Fort McNair expose a huge weakness in U.S. defense systems.
• Even a $3,000 drone from Best Buy can map a base, track personnel, gather elevations, and collect data for future attacks.
• “People think drones are toys. They’re not. When an unknown drone is over a base housing senior U.S. officials, that’s not an accident — that’s reconnaissance.”

• How vulnerable are large public events, critical infrastructure, and military installations?
• Why can’t the U.S. simply shoot down drones?
• What kind of explosive payload can a commercial drone carry?
• What kind of intelligence can a small drone gather in just a few minutes?
• Are foreign governments using consumer drones to spy on U.S. bases?
• What does the public need to understand about the information war we’re already in?

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