Chicago man arrested in connection with thwarted UFC attack at White House

The day before the event, an FBI special agent contacted Mercado by phone after investigators uncovered online threats against the gathering. The agent asked whether Mercado planned to travel to Washington, D.C., to participate in the attack. Mercado allegedly denied any involvement and declined to meet with investigators.

Prosecutors alleged that shortly after the call, Mercado uninstalled the Signal application from his phone, deleting encrypted messages stored on the device and making them unavailable to investigators. Signal is an encrypted messaging platform that stores messages locally on users’ devices. Removing the application deletes those locally stored messages.

Mercado is the eighth person charged in connection with the alleged plot. Seven other individuals from multiple states have been charged. The FBI said those arrested were attempting to target “capitalist elites,” “billionaires,” and politicians who received money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

The FBI said it learned of the alleged conspiracy on June 10, just four days before Trump and other senior government officials attended the UFC event. Authorities allege five of the suspects planned to use explosive-laden drones to strike buildings near the venue, which could trigger a mass evacuation. Investigators said the conspirators intended to funnel fleeing crowds toward a pre-positioned sniper team before launching a second phase of the attack to target the White House gates.

FBI thwarts explosive drone attack against UFC Freedom 250 fight

“Obstructing justice in a law enforcement investigation into a planned violent domestic attack is a profoundly serious offense,” U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros said in a statement. “The investigation in this case involved serious threats to public safety, including the safety of President Donald J. Trump, other members of government, as well as the many attendees and athletes who attended the event at the White House.”

Boutros added that the U.S. Attorney’s Office “will pursue all appropriate charges against those who act to obstruct law enforcement investigations because safeguarding the public depends on the full, unhindered pursuit of the evidence.”