The Secret Service Is Mad Kash Patel Torpedoed an Ongoing Drone Plot Investigation With a Premature Social Media Post
FBI Director jumps the gun.
The Secret Service is allegedly livid after FBI Director Kash Patel blew the lid off an active drone attack investigation with a premature social media post. According to Mediaite, Patel announced on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, that law enforcement had thwarted a plot to use explosive-laden drones to target the UFC event held on the White House South Lawn over the weekend. His post, which celebrated the arrests of “multiple individuals,” has left Secret Service officials fuming.
The UFC Freedom 250 event, held on the South Lawn on Sunday, June 14, was already making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Between the spectacle of a high-profile fight night at the White House, allegations that Eric Trump had tried to contact a former UFC fighter about rigged bets, and a fighter declaring post-victory that Michelle Obama “is a man,” the event was a magnet for controversy. Now, it’s also the center of a law enforcement turf war.
Patel’s post declared the plot had been “stopped cold” thanks to a joint effort by the FBI, Department of Justice, and local law enforcement. He shared a link to a Fox News report detailing the intercepted Signal messages among 23 individuals discussing “pre-operational activity.” Five suspects were already in custody by Tuesday morning, but the investigation was far from over, according to the BBC.
Officials say the attackers had a multi-pronged strategy
The plot, according to officials, involved using drones packed with explosives to hit buildings near the event, triggering a mass evacuation that would funnel crowds toward a pre-positioned sniper team. A second wave of attackers was allegedly planned to storm the White House gate.
Secret Service Director Sean Curran issued a statement praising his agency’s “special agents, mission support personnel, and technical security teams” for their round-the-clock work to identify and hold the suspects accountable. But behind the scenes, the reaction was anything but positive.
Secret Service officials are reportedly furious that Patel jumped the gun by publicly announcing details of a sealed and ongoing investigation. The case was still under court seal, and roughly ten suspects remained at large when Patel made his post. Ken Dilanian, MSNow justice and intelligence correspondent, shared the fallout in a lengthy post on X.
Citing three sources familiar with the incident, Dilanian wrote that Secret Service officials were blindsided by Patel’s announcement. The FBI and Secret Service had been working together on the investigation and had planned to unseal the case later that day, making a joint public statement after more arrests were secured. Instead, they woke up to Patel’s post, which they say compromised the integrity of the operation.
Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn didn’t mince words, though he avoided naming Patel directly. “I’ll tell you a phrase I learned early in my career in the New York field office, and that’s Don’t choke on your own smoke,” Quinn said.
He emphasized that the Secret Service had led the investigation from the start and chose not to leak details to maintain operational security. “The case is ongoing,” he added. “In order to maintain the integrity of the investigation and the security plan, we chose not to leak it.”
The arrested have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder
The five men arrested – Tycen C Proper, 19, of Ohio, Bryan Omar Roa, 24, and Michael Alan Thomas, 32, of California, Daniel K Eskridge, 32, of Missouri, and Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, of Nebraska – were charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Each faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. Proper, the youngest, was arrested in Ohio last week after his mother tipped off authorities about his suspicious firearms purchases and online communications.
During an FBI interview on June 11, Proper admitted to being part of the planning and said the group had been communicating since March through a TikTok group called “Vanguard of the Old,” also referred to in court documents as “Vanguard of the Old Republic.” It’s unclear whether the group is tied to any larger organization, but Proper told investigators that members were primarily recruited through TikTok.
The group’s motives were a mix of ultra-religious and anti-government sentiments. Court filings reveal they discussed grievances ranging from government corruption to the handling of the Epstein files, as well as concerns about data centers consuming community water supplies. Alvarez was reportedly in charge of the drone operations. They had distributed maps of Washington, D.C., marking sniper locations, drone launch points, and power grids as potential targets.
The White House event, part of the nation’s 250th-anniversary celebrations, drew an estimated 4,300 in-person attendees and another 85,000 viewers nearby. The suspects allegedly had a list of high-value targets that included President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Elon Musk, though not all of them attended the event.
The plot was foiled just days before the event, thanks to Proper’s mother. The suspects are set to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on June 29.
(Featured image: Gage Skidmore)
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