8 indicted in plot to target Trump, Vance, pro-Israel officials at White House UFC show

Eight men are indicted on murder and terrorism conspiracy charges Thursday for their alleged roles in a thwarted plot to target lawmakers linked to Israel at the UFC event at the White House last month.

The indictment, returned in Ohio, charges all eight in two separate conspiracies: one to provide material support to terrorists and a second to commit murder on federal government territory and to murder a federal government official.

It remains unclear from the court records how close the would-be attackers could have come to being able to carry out the plan had it not been thwarted.

According to a criminal complaint following their arrest, the suspects were seeking to harm politicians linked to Israel. Images of officials used by the suspects appeared to have been taken from the website “TrackAIPAC.com” and included information about how much money each lawmaker had received from “pro-Israel PACS,” the complaint said.

Federal prosecutors allege that the group planned to murder Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was not at the event. They also planned to kill US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, other federal officials, trillionaire businessman Elon Musk and “other high-value targets” at the event.

According to the new indictment, the plot began in May, when the group began amassing money, firearms, ammunition, body armor, explosives, drones, medical equipment, communications equipment and other items.

It was on June 10 that law enforcement officials learned about a possible threat to Trump’s UFC cage-fighting show, four days before the mixed martial arts extravaganza was scheduled to take place.

Officials have said the group members harbored fringe conspiracy theories and hoped the attack would destabilize the government.

They communicated through online chat groups and forums and classified participants into tiers, with tier 1 participants committing “to put themselves in harm’s way, break the law, and potentially go into hiding,” according to the federal indictment. Members of the group also engaged in marksmanship and combat training.

Conspiring to provide material support to terrorists is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and conspiring to commit murder carries a penalty of up to life in prison.