The Secret Service said it intentionally kept an alleged June 14 plot to attack the UFC event at the White House covert. But FBI Director Kash Patel publicly disclosed details on June 16, prompting the agency’s deputy director to say the investigation was not
WASHINGTON — When an alleged terror plot tied to the UFC event at the White House surfaced as a developing threat, the Secret Service moved to keep its investigation out of the public eye.
Deputy Secret Service Director Matthew Quinn said the agency intentionally worked covertly as it pursued the case. “It was an active plot, and it’s ongoing,” Quinn told reporters. “There are still suspects at large, and we’re going to work it until everyone’s been identified.”
That plan to keep details contained collided on June 16, when FBI Director Kash Patel posted about the investigation early on social media, naming it as an effort that had been stopped.
The FBI “and our law enforcement partners” became aware of a potential threat to the UFC America 250 event in Washington on June 10, Patel said in a statement on X at 6:50 a.m. ET. “Multiple individuals are now in custody and the allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold,” he wrote.
Quinn’s message came a day after Patel’s post. with the Secret Service describing a case that was still being worked and still not fully resolved. Quinn also framed the investigation as Secret Service-led. adding that it was ongoing and that information had been kept private for a reason: protecting the integrity of the security plan.
The divergence became sharper because Patel’s announcement made the existence of the investigation immediately headline news. according to a federal law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. Before Patel’s post. the same official said. authorities were seeking at least 10 more people for questioning beyond those already charged.
Quinn did not criticize Patel or the FBI directly by name at an unrelated news conference on Tuesday, June 16. But he expressed clear frustration that details of the case became public before the Secret Service intended them to be released.
“I’ll tell you a phrase I learned early in my career in the New York field office, and that’s ‘Don’t choke on your own smoke,’” Quinn said. “Anyone that believes that case was worked in a bubble (by the FBI) is naive. I’ll tell you, the Secret Service led that investigation from the beginning.”
The federal law enforcement official said the entire case was intentionally filed under seal so details could not leak and alert potential suspects to the urgent investigation underway.
At least five people have been charged in connection with the alleged plot, including Tycen Proper, Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, Bryan Omar Roa, Michael Alan Thomas, and Daniel K. Eskridge. The suspects spanned the country, living in states including Missouri, Ohio, and California.
Court documents allege a broader plan to attack the June 14 event attended by President Donald Trump and top Cabinet officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, and Patel.
Federal authorities said the Secret Service and FBI became aware of the threat to the UFC event when a relative of one of the suspects contacted local police in Ohio.
After identifying a Signal chat used by the suspects. the Secret Service’s Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit (ATIU) was able to identify alleged communications between the plotters. according to the federal law enforcement official. Those alleged plans included traveling to Washington. DC. and using drones and snipers to attack the event on the South Lawn of the White House.
Quinn, in his public remarks, said the Secret Service chose not to leak the information while the investigation and security planning were still in progress.
“In order to maintain the integrity of the investigation and the security plan, we chose not to leak it,” Quinn said. “Look, it was a serious threat. We take all threats of a large nature very seriously, and we investigate them until we can validate 100% that it’s no longer a threat.”
Late Tuesday. the FBI issued what it described as a joint statement from the spokespersons of the FBI and Secret Service. It said, “The FBI and U.S. Secret Service are proud of our strong working relationship. This investigation highlights that continuous partnership and could not have happened without the great work and coordination between our two agencies. This weekend’s thwarted attack should be a message to any criminal actor that if you target Americans. you will be found and brought to justice.”.
The public fight over who gets to control the narrative has been building before this case. Democrats in Congress have sharply criticized Patel for his use of social media during investigations.
In a September 2025 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., described Patel’s posts during the Charlie Kirk case and said Patel incorrectly claimed on social media that the shooter was in custody, prompting a walk-back with another social media post.
“Mr. Patel was so anxious to take credit for finding Mr. Kirk’s assassin,” Durbin said, “that he violated one of the basics of effective law enforcement: at critical stages of an investigation, shut up and let the professionals do their job.”
The same criticism resurfaced in the UFC plot case, where Quinn’s insistence on keeping the investigation sealed and controlled collided with Patel’s decision to go public early on June 16—before, according to the Secret Service, the work was done and before all suspects had been identified.
Kash Patel Matthew Quinn Secret Service FBI UFC America 250 White House South Lawn Signal chat Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit Tycen Proper Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez Bryan Omar Roa Michael Alan Thomas Daniel K. Eskridge June 14 June 16 Signal drones snipers