2 men plead not guilty in alleged White House UFC attack plot

Court Battles 2 men plead not guilty in alleged White House UFC attack plot by Ashleigh Fields - 07/16/26 3:52 PM ET Link copied by Ashleigh Fields - 07/16/26 3:52 PM ET Link copied

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Two of the eight men formally indicted in connection to the White House UFC attack plot pleaded not guilty to federal charges on Thursday in an Ohio courtroom.

Tycen Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio and Chandler Scaggs, 21, of Chapmanville, West Virginia both entered the not guilty plea before District Court Judge Edmund Sargus Jr., according to The Associated Press.

Proper and Scaggs are charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to commit murder on federal government territory and to murder a federal government official.

Their trial is set to begin Sept. 14 and the two could face between 15 years to life imprisonment for the alleged crimes.

Collectively, a group of eight people from across the country were accused of planning to fly explosive drones over the White House during a cage fight with thousands of attendees to harm elected officials and “other high value targets” at the event.

They were allegedly plotting to murder President Trump, Vice President Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, billionaire Elon Musk in a group chat since May.

According to the Department of Justice, Proper’s text in the SimpleX app said the attack would also focus on Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), Jim Justice (W.Va.) and Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), along with GOP Reps. Carol Miller (W.Va.) and Riley Moore (W.Va.).

Vice President Vance late Tuesday said the alleged plot to attack lawmakers at the White House UFC match was “not that advanced’ as it was ultimately halted by law enforcement officials who discovered the threat four days prior to the event.

“There was a lot of security there. And it turns out the plot was like, not that advanced. They weren’t in town,” Vance said during an appearance on Fox News’s “The Five.”

Defendants were found in states ranging from Missouri, Washington, Nebraska and California to Ohio.

Eric Brehm, who’s serving as an attorney for Scaggs said, “there appears to be a significant disconnect between the severity of the alleged offenses and Mr. Scaggs’ naivety, lack of sophistication, and judgment,” in a statement obtained by AP.

Proper’s lawyer did not respond to their request for comment.