deleting Signal – Federal prosecutors say Alexander Iniguez Mercado, 20, deleted the encrypted messaging app Signal from his phone after being questioned by an FBI special agent about an alleged violent plan targeting a June 14 UFC event at the White House on President Donald T
A Chicago man accused of deleting an encrypted messaging app after FBI questioning is scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate judge later Friday afternoon, a move prosecutors say is tied to an alleged violent plan targeting a White House UFC event on President Donald Trump’s birthday.
Federal prosecutors charged Alexander Iniguez Mercado. 20. with obstruction of justice. alleging he removed Signal from his phone after being asked about what role he may have played in “the planning of a violent attack” aimed at the Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the White House on June 14. If convicted on the one-count grand jury indictment made public Friday, Mercado faces up to two decades in prison.
The allegations include a sequence prosecutors describe as increasingly tense. An FBI special agent spoke to Mercado by phone on June 13, the indictment says. When the agent asked whether Mercado planned to travel to Washington. D.C. to help carry out an attack. Mercado allegedly denied it and said he did not want to meet. The call was disconnected “after a brief conversation,” prosecutors say.
Prosecutors also allege Mercado did not “initially respond” when the agent later attempted to set up an interview. Between June 13 and June 14, Mercado allegedly uninstalled Signal from his phone.
In the indictment. prosecutors say the FBI “obtained information” indicating Mercado was “a member and an administrator” of Signal messaging groups that included people who appeared to be communicating about the planned attack. At least seven others have also been charged in connection with the alleged plot.
The case lands amid controversy involving U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros and how his office has secured indictments from grand juries, a dispute that has largely centered on a single prosecutor.
Chicago man charged obstruction of justice Signal app deleted FBI agent phone call White House UFC event June 14 Trump birthday Alexander Iniguez Mercado grand jury indictment