W.Va. Man Indicted In UFC Assassination Plot

A West Virginia man has been indicted along with seven co-conspirators in a plot against the UFC event on the White House lawn last month. 

Chandler Scaggs, 21, of Chapmanville, West Virginia, was taken into custody earlier this week in West Virginia by the FBI. A total of eight defendants now face federal charges related to the alleged plot to carry out an attack to kill government officials and others attending the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Freedom 250 event held at the White House on June 14. 

The indictment stems from an initial investigation and criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of Ohio against Tycen C. Proper 19, of Danville, Ohio. Proper and four others charged in Missouri, Nebraska and California were arrested the weekend of the UFC event. Two more defendants were arrested by the FBI approximately one week later in Washington and Missouri. 

Scaggs was allegedly assigned to be one of the snipers in the plotted attack.  

A press release from the Department of Justice said the indictment charges all eight men with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to commit murder on federal government territory and to murder a federal government official.  

An affidavit details that Scaggs was to be picked up by Proper to travel to Washington, D.C. Scaggs and others lost contact with Proper upon Proper’s arrest, but Scaggs allegedly indicated to the group that he was still willing to participate in the attack and made new plans for another coconspirator to pick him up to travel to the UFC Freedom 250 event. 

Among other targets, the men had identified West Virginia’s Congressional Delegation, as well as state Del. Tristan Leavitt, R-Kanawha.  

In an earlier interview with West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Leavitt noted he was the only state-level politician on the list.  

“One part of the criminal complaint references that these individuals had conspiracy theories about Jeffrey Epstein, and one of the things that referenced was a belief that data centers would take all of the water from all of our natural resources, and obviously that’s a hot debate right now,” he said. “I sit on the West Virginia House of Delegates Energy and Public Works Committee but that was only one of several issues that seemed to motivate this larger group. Our names came up in the context, me and the congressional delegation, in the context of Israel and other issues.” 

The indictment replaces the initial charges filed in criminal complaints in various districts across the country.  

A full list of those charged in the indictment includes: 

According to the indictment, starting in May 2026, the defendants conspired to provide material support and resources to terrorists in the form of money, firearms, ammunition, body armor, explosives, drones, medical equipment, communication equipment, personnel and other services. 

The eight men allegedly participated in online chat groups and forums on multiple platforms including Signal, SimpleX, Discord, TikTok and Instagram. Throughout these communications, they allegedly developed plans for attacks, recruited members and encouraged each other to prepare for attacks, including the attack on UFC Freedom 250. 

The indictment details that, as part of their conspiracy, the defendants created a tier system to classify participants. Tier one conspirators allegedly committed to put themselves “in harms [sic] way, break the law, and potentially go into hiding.” 

Besides amassing weapons, ammunition, tactical gear and other supplies, the defendants also allegedly engaged in marksmanship and combat training, agreed on targets for the UFC Freedom 250 event and created operational plans to commit the attack and escape after the attack. 

Count two of the indictment charges a second conspiracy, namely, conspiracy to commit murder on federal government territory and to murder a federal government official. 

As part of this conspiracy, the defendants allegedly planned to murder the President of the United States, Vice President of the United States, other federal officials, the Prime Minister of Israel, Elon Musk and “other high value targets” at UFC Freedom 250. 

Conspiring to provide material support to terrorists is punishable by up to 15 years of imprisonment. Conspiring to commit murder carries a potential penalty of up to life in prison. 

Scaggs is currently being held in the Franklin County, Ohio detention center. Bond has not been set.