EXCLUSIVE: As federal agents raced to dismantle an alleged plot targeting President Donald Trump’s UFC Freedom 250 event, investigators were simultaneously making another critical determination: whether the White House event itself could safely go forward.

In a Monday interview with Fox News Digital, FBI Deputy Director Chris Raia said investigators believed they had sufficiently disrupted the alleged conspiracy before the event took place, arguing that agents were monitoring suspects and knew none were in the Washington area when the UFC event was held.

«We absolutely felt very comfortable moving (the UFC event) forward,» Raia said. «We were confident that we had disrupted that main plot.»

The FBI initially arrested five people accused of participating in the plot to kill lawmakers and attendees at the June 14 event. Since then, prosecutors have publicly identified two additional defendants, raising questions about why the event was allowed to proceed while investigators continued pursuing other alleged participants.

5 CHILLING DETAILS FROM THE ALLEGED WHITE HOUSE ATTACK PLOT TIED TO UFC EVENT

Raia said the additional defendants were «followers» rather than leaders of the conspiracy.

«We were confident that we had the leaders, the main plotters of that, so the rest of the folks were more of the followers that you’re seeing now.»

«There was a lot of security there,» Vice President JD Vance said during a June 16 appearance on Fox News’ «The Five.» «And it turns out the plot was like, not that advanced. They weren’t in town.» 

The issue reportedly sparked tensions between federal agencies. 

Two senior U.S. officials previously told Fox News that Secret Service leadership wanted to delay publicly disclosing the investigation until additional arrests could be made, fearing that revealing the probe could alert other subjects and complicate the ongoing case.

Raia said the FBI did not share those concerns, arguing that investigators were already monitoring both the alleged ringleaders and other suspected participants.

FBI NAMES SIXTH SUSPECT IN ALLEGED PLOT TO USE DRONES AND SNIPERS TO TARGET UFC FREEDOM 250 EVENT

«We had that contained or what I would call mitigated very early on even though we didn’t do the arrests,» he said. «We were watching the folks that were planning it. We had them under surveillance. And so we knew that nobody was even close to the DC area at the time that was happening.» 

Despite reported disagreements over when to publicly disclose the investigation, Raia emphasized that the FBI and Secret Service worked closely throughout the case.

«That was a joint case with us and the Secret Service,» Raia said.

The agencies jointly assessed the threat before deciding the event could proceed, according to Raia.  

«We all talked about that as a group and made that decision to move forward with the UFC 250 event,» he told Fox News Digital.

Deputy Secret Service Director Matthew Quinn, responding to questions about the case at an unrelated event, emphasized that the Secret Service had «led that investigation from the beginning» and suggested investigators intentionally avoided public disclosure while the case remained active. 

«In order to maintain the integrity of the investigation and the security plan we chose not to leak it,» Quinn said during a June 16 press conference. 

Raia, a career FBI agent and former head of the bureau’s New York Field Office, was appointed FBI co-deputy director in January after the departure of former Deputy Director Dan Bongino. Before leading the New York office, Raia served as one of the FBI’s top counterterrorism officials and has been with the bureau since 2003.

President Donald Trump seated between Dana White and the First Lady. (Evan Vucci/Reuters)

According to court records, the alleged conspirators first connected through a TikTok community known as «Vanguard of the Old» before moving their discussions to encrypted messaging platforms including Signal, Telegram and SimpleX. Investigators say members organized themselves into tiered roles that included frontline operators, drone operators, recruiters, logistics personnel and technical support.

Court records indicate the network extended well beyond the suspects initially charged. After obtaining a warrant for the phone of Ohio defendant Tycen Proper, investigators allegedly discovered a primary Signal chat containing approximately 19 participants, along with smaller operational chats organized by role and location.

Raia said the case is far from closed: 14 to 15 FBI field offices are assisting in the investigation.

«We’re going to continue to work that case aggressively,» he said. «You uncover one layer, and you see four more layers.»

The case also underscored one of the FBI’s biggest investigative challenges: encrypted communications platforms.

«That is a gap for us in encrypted communications platforms,» Raia said.

UFC Freedom 250 takes place on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Mon. June 15, 2026. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Raia said investigators attempt to penetrate those networks through confidential human sources, undercover employees and other lawful investigative techniques. 

«We try to infiltrate, obviously, with CHSs, UCEs, again, inside the bounds of the Constitution,» he said, referring to «confidential human sources» and «undercover employees.» 

But Raia acknowledged the FBI does not have visibility into every encrypted chat where criminal activity may be occurring. 

In the UFC case, he pointed to Proper’s mother as the catalyst who helped investigators uncover the alleged conspiracy before it could advance further.

«We had a concerned parent that really launched this entire UFC 250 case off,» Raia said. «Concerned parent called in on her son.»

The tip ultimately led investigators to Proper’s phone and the alleged network of encrypted chats that prosecutors say contained discussions about drones, sniper positions, escape routes and attack planning. Without that initial call, Raia suggested, the alleged plot may have remained hidden inside encrypted platforms that continue to challenge law enforcement visibility.

The UFC case also reflects what FBI officials say is a broader shift in the threat landscape. Rather than large, hierarchical terrorist organizations, investigators are increasingly concerned about lone actors and small groups that can organize online, acquire commercially available technology and develop attack plans with little outside support.

«I’m less concerned about a mass 9/11 style attack than I am a lone single person, a single attacker,» he said.

While discussing security preparations for the FIFA World Cup, he described drone-based attacks as one of the FBI’s top concerns and warned that tactics seen on battlefields overseas could eventually migrate to the United States.

Investigators say they saw signs that the alleged network may have been considering targets beyond the White House UFC event. 

In a newly unsealed court filing, an FBI agent said he believed messages exchanged among alleged conspirators referenced a potential attack on a FIFA World Cup match scheduled for July 3 in Kansas City, Missouri.

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«I think that is a threat that is emerging,» Raia said. «We have seen that overseas, and it’s only a matter of time for somebody brings that type of attack, that threat vector here to the United States.»

The alleged UFC plot illustrates many of those concerns. Prosecutors say the group allegedly used encrypted communications, divided members into specialized roles, discussed drone operations and coordinated activity across multiple states without relying on a traditional terrorist organization or foreign network.

This story is part of Fox News Digital’s exclusive interview with FBI Deputy Director Chris Raia. Additional reporting from the interview will be published in the coming days.

Fox News’ Mike Ruiz contributed to this report. 

La devastadora destrucción de un condominio frente al mar en Miami comenzó semanas antes de que se derrumbara en un montón de escombros en plena noche, causando la muerte de 98 personas en 2021, pero el edificio había sido vulnerable desde el principio, según descubrieron los investigadores federales en un informe final publicado el lunes.

El Instituto Nacional de Estándares y Tecnología (NIST) indicó en su informe que dos conexiones entre las columnas del garaje y la terraza de la piscina comenzaron a fallar a principios de junio. Las Champlain Towers colapsaron el 24 de junio de 2021. Habían sido inauguradas en 1981.

La combinación de un diseño estructural que no cumplía con los códigos de construcción y las modificaciones realizadas a lo largo de sus 40 años de existencia provocó que las demás partes de la terraza no fueran lo suficientemente resistentes para soportar la carga adicional, lo que derivó en un colapso gradual.

«Cuando las estructuras de los edificios se diseñan y construyen de acuerdo con los códigos y estándares requeridos, cuentan con márgenes de seguridad que les permiten soportar una carga mucho mayor de la prevista», declaró Judith Mitrani-Reiser, codirectora de la investigación, en un video que acompaña al informe.

«En el caso de Champlain Towers South, estos márgenes de seguridad fueron demasiado reducidos desde el principio».

El informe subraya los hallazgos que han ido surgiendo desde la catástrofe del edificio de condominios de 12 pisos frente a la playa, que ponen de manifiesto semanas de dificultades en la construcción y problemas más profundos.

La mayoría de los residentes estaba durmiendo cuando el edificio en el pequeño pueblo de Surfside, al norte de Miami, se derrumbó en una enorme pila de escombros a la 1:22 de la madrugada.

Entre los fallecidos se encontraban miembros de la numerosa comunidad judía ortodoxa de la zona, así como la hermana de la primera dama de Paraguay, su familia y su niñera. Un juez de Miami aprobó un acuerdo extrajudicial de más de mil millones de dólares por las indemnizaciones por lesiones personales y homicidio culposo sufridas en el desastre.

Harley Tropin, quien representó a las familias de las víctimas y sobrevivientes en una demanda colectiva, declinó hacer comentarios sobre el nuevo informe.

La estructura no cumplía con los códigos de construcción vigentes en ese momento y la construcción del edificio no se ajustó al diseño, incluyendo la adición de grandes jardineras en la terraza de la piscina, explicó Mitrani-Reiser.

“En algunos lugares, el diseño proporcionaba menos de la mitad de la resistencia exigida por el código”, dijo.

Según explicó, las obras realizadas posteriormente alrededor de la piscina, en las que se añadieron arena y adoquines, sobrecargaron aún más un sistema que ya era «estructuralmente inadecuado».

Mientras tanto, según el NIST, el acero de refuerzo en la cubierta de la piscina y en las losas de estacionamiento a nivel de calle presentaba corrosión en algunas zonas.

Las fotos tomadas por personas que se encontraban en el edificio semanas antes del derrumbe muestran una larga grieta en un muro de contención en la terraza de la piscina, así como grietas en la esquina donde el muro se unía a una jardinera, según el informe del NIST. Menos de un día antes del derrumbe, esa jardinera se había desprendido de la terraza de la piscina.

Aproximadamente una semana antes del derrumbe de la torre, aumentó el caudal de agua que se filtraba del techo del estacionamiento, según el NIST. Unas horas antes de la destrucción, una persona entrevistada por los investigadores lo describió como una «canilla de agua».

Según Mitrani-Reiser, las personas que se encontraban en el edificio describieron cómo la plataforma de la piscina se derrumbaba «un tramo a la vez, como si cayeran fichas de dominó en una reacción en cadena». Algunos dijeron haber sentido un viento repentino en el vestíbulo y otros oyeron sonidos parecidos a los de un motor a reacción.

La plataforma de la piscina comenzó a derrumbarse minutos antes que dos secciones de la torre. Un sólido muro de hormigón impidió que la destrucción se extendiera por completo a la tercera sección, según el NIST.

Las empresas responsables del diseño y la construcción de la estructura original a finales de la década de 1970 ya no están en funcionamiento.

Tras el derrumbe, en 2022, los legisladores estatales promulgaron una ley que obligaba a las asociaciones de condominios a contar con reservas suficientes para cubrir las reparaciones mayores.

Algunos residentes se vieron sorprendidos por las elevadas cuotas impuestas para cubrir años de gastos de mantenimiento diferidos, necesarios para que sus edificios cumplieran con las normas de la ley. Esto dio lugar a otra ley que otorgaba a las asociaciones de condominios y a los residentes mayor flexibilidad para gestionar los costos.

Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz’s viral jab at President Donald Trump over the troubled Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool cleanup drew swift blowback from critics online, who pointed to the massive fraud scandal that unfolded in Minnesota under Walz’s watch.

«Found an imaginary problem, said only they could fix it, didn’t listen to experts, hired buddies who grifted millions, failed miserably, bragged how great it went,» Walz wrote on Friday in a post on X with over 3.5 million views. «The entire Trump presidency in a nutshell.»

Walz was reacting to a news report about the issues the Trump administration has had cleaning up the historic reflecting pool next to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., which has recently become fodder for Democrats in response to peeling paint and algae growth just weeks after a $14.8 million restoration project was completed. 

Walz’s post, which was received well by some of his supporters, was widely criticized by conservatives, who suggested that Walz’s inability to stop the scammers involved in the massive fraud scandal that unfolded under his watch makes his opinion on the Reflecting Pool less convincing.

TIM WALZ FIRES BACK AT TRUMP ACCUSATION OF ‘INCOMPETENCE,’ DODGES ON RESPONSIBILITY FOR FRAUD IN MINNESOTA

«I’m sorry, TIM WALZ is accusing someone else of enabling grifting?» journalist Mark Hemingway posted on X.

«From the dude who gave us all those ‘Learing Centers,’» Fox Business senior correspondent Charles Gasparino posted on X.

«Tim Walz: Are you describing yourself?» Minnesota Staff Fraud Reporting Commentary, an account representing more than 480 Minnesota state staff members who have sounded the alarm on fraud in the state, posted on X.

WALZ APPROVAL RATING CRATERS TO LOWEST LEVEL EVER AND TRAILS TRUMP AMID MASSIVE FRAUD SCANDAL: ‘TIRED OF IT’

National Park Service employees and contractors use vacuums to remove green algae from the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on June 18, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

«Ya might want to sit this one out…,» Sal Nuzzo, executive director of Consumers Defense, posted on X.

«Actually, the problems were very real: 9% inflation, an open border with 20M+ illegal crossings, fentanyl killing 100K Americans a year, factories shipped overseas, energy dependence, and cities that couldn’t keep the lights on,» former Trump White House spokesman Harrison Fields posted on X. «Voters didn’t imagine those — they lived them. That’s why you’re a retiring governor and failed VP nominee.»

Conservative influencer account Gunther Eagleman accused Walz of presiding over Minnesota’s fraud scandal, posting on X, «Says the biggest fraudster in Minnesota.»

«Crazy, you found an imaginary war record,» Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden posted on X in response to questions about Walz’s recollection of his military service while running for vice president in 2024.

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Gov. Tim Walz gestures while speaking at the Global Progressive Mobilization conference in Barcelona, Spain, on Saturday, April 18, 2026. (Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office for comment.

«Of the MANY Statues and Fountains that we rebuilt, renovated, cleaned, and fixed, the only one that was Vandalized was the Reflecting Pool, which is being taken care of, ASAP!»  Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday after alleging vandalism at the Reflecting Pool, where law enforcement activity and cleanup efforts have drawn national attention.

«It has been given a 300 foot long gash, chemicals have been illegally placed in the water, and the beautiful new grass field has been destroyed with a gigantic 86 47 chemically carved into it (Probably inspired by Dirty Cop, James Comey!). Please remember that there is a 10 year prison sentence for the destruction, or even the attempted destruction, of such things – Which will be fully enforced! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT.»