Danville man arrested in alleged terrorism plot

A Danville man was one of five charged in an alleged plot to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event June 14 at the White House in Washington, D.C.

Tycen Proper, 19, was arrested June 10 and faces four charges — Conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States; attempted murder of any officer or employee of the United States; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; and receipt or transfer of a firearm to commit a felony.

According to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Proper’s mother had called local authorities June 10 with concerns about her son. She said she was concerned due to his recent conduct, including firearm purchases and communication with others online. Officers arrived at their home and spoke to Proper, his mother and father.

Proper’s father stated he recently had met random people online and planned recons with them. Proper had recently acquired camping gear, food, ballistic plates, a shotgun, a rifle, lots of ammunition and extra magazines. The father said his son had spent approximately $3,000 of his graduation money on these items.

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office transported Proper to a local medical facility for emergency admission based on homicidal ideations.

According to the complaint filed by Christopher Betts, a task force officer with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and a detective with the Columbus Division of Police, Proper was interviewed the following day at the medical facility and he admitted to planning with the others a coordinated attack against the U.S. government during the UFC event set for June 14.

Proper described the attack, saying they would fly drones with explosive devices into the arena on the White House lawn, forcing the crowd to evacuate into an area where others in the group would shoot members of the crowd as the fled.

A search warrant for Proper’s phone led to information about a large chat with approximately 19 individuals where the plans were made. Included in those plans were names of high valued targets, several of which were U.S. Senators and Representatives who were pro-Israel.

Four others have been arrested for alleged involvement in the plot. Bryan Omar Roa and Michael Allen Thomas were arrested in California and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Daniel Eskridge of Kansas City, Missouri, and Abraham Alvarez of Omaha, Nebraska, were also arrested.