Over the course of several days, federal law enforcement quietly made arrests in a foiled plot to attack the UFC fights at the White House, but were keeping a lid on the details because the investigation was still ongoing, according to two law enforcement officials with knowledge of the case who spoke on condition of anonymity.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Then FBI Director Kash Patel posted details of the arrests online on Tuesday, claiming FBI credit for the investigation with a nod to “law enforcement partners” that helped.
It took some federal law enforcement officials by surprise, in part because authorities were still working to take suspects into custody in the sprawling investigation into more than two dozen people on an encrypted chat, according to three law enforcement officials.Some of the suspects in the alleged plot spoke of flying drones laden with explosives onto the South Lawn and then shooting at the fleeing attendees, according to law enforcement.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship event was in honor of America’s 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.Law enforcement officials worried that news of the arrests would spook the suspects, the officials said.
On Monday, federal prosecutors had asked a judge to seal a case.One law enforcement official was “shocked” by the public disclosure and worried it could hinder the ongoing probe.
The official said Patel did “a lot of damage” by treating the work of law enforcement partners as “an afterthought” in the investigation.The second official said that there was frustration among career FBI agents working the case, because interviews were still being conducted after his public pronouncements.
“There were still people being rounded up on a sealed federal case,” they said of Patel’s announcement.“It’s not great.”There are a total of 26 usernames under investigation, and 14 had b...