WASHINGTON — Two more people in Missouri and Washington state have been arrested in connection with what authorities say was a planned attack targeting President Donald Trump's UFC cage-fighting show at the White House earlier this month.Law enforcement officials disrupted the plan a few days before the June 14 White House event, according to court documents.William Lee Spartacus Falkner of Belfair, Washington, was arrested Friday and charged with conspiracy to commit murder, according to court documents filed Monday in the Western District of Washington.Jordan W.
Rincker, 28, was arrested Sunday and charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the Western District of Missouri.A defense attorney appointed to represent Falkner did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment, and court records do not reveal if Rincker has obtained an attorney.
Neither man has had the opportunity to enter a plea."Law enforcement continues to do what it does — move to disrupt and hold accountable those allegedly plotting to do harm on the White House Grounds on June 14," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a news release.Law enforcement officials learned about the possible threat on June 10, four days before the mixed martial arts extravaganza on the White House's South Lawn.The Justice Department last week announced federal charges against five people from states including Ohio, Missouri, Nebraska and California.
The latest arrests bring the number of people known to be facing federal charges to seven.Officials say the group members harbored fringe conspiracy theories and hoped the attack would destabilize the government.The investigation began after the mother of an Ohio man contacted police because she was concerned about her son's recent firearms purchases and online communications, according to an FBI affidavit filed in the case.The man, 19-year-old Tycen Proper, told investigators that he was part of a group that wanted to trigger a revolution and target ...