COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Two of the eight men indicted in an alleged drone and sniper plot to attack President Donald Trump's UFC cage-fighting show on the White House lawn pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal conspiracy charges.
Clothed in jail garb and shackled, Tycen Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio, and Chandler Scaggs, 21, of Chapmanville, West Virginia, entered the pleas before U.S. District Court Judge Edmund Sargus Jr. in Ohio, where the case has been consolidated. They and the other six defendants are each charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to commit murder on federal government territory and to murder a federal government official.
Sargus scheduled their trial to begin Sept. 14.
“What would have happened or could have happened, that's never going to be clear, because, thank God, there was an intervention here and this thing was disrupted,” U.S. Attorney Dominick Gerace II told reporters last week as he detailed the group's July 9 indictments. “But, in my view, when I look at what's been alleged there, it seems pretty likely that someone or multiple people were driving to Washington, D.C., to do something.”
Attorneys for Proper and Scaggs declined to comment after the hearing.
According to the indictment, the plot began in May. Members of the group — citing grievances about government corruption, water-guzzling data centers and the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files — began amassing money, firearms, ammunition, body armor, explosives, drones, medical equipment, communications equipment and other items.
The attack was planned to take place at the cage-fighting show dubbed UFC Freedom 250, which was held on the South Lawn of the White House to celebrate the nation's 250th anniversary. Law enforcement officials said they learned of the possible threat four days before the event was scheduled to take place.
One of the defendants told investigators that they planned to fly explosive-laden drones into the event and then shoot panicked crowd members as they fled, according to a federal affidavit.
The Justice Department announced charges against seven people from across the country last month, including from Ohio, Missouri, Washington, Nebraska and California. Officials said the suspects harbored fringe conspiracy theories and hoped the attack would destabilize the government.
Four alleged conspirators charged in Missouri, Nebraska and California the weekend of the event and two more charged about a week later in Washington and Missouri are still in the process of being moved to Ohio to face charges. They are likely to be tried as a group.
Scaggs was arrested separately later, but was brought to Ohio ahead of the other out-of-state defendants.
A sign marks the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)
Cars sit parked in front of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)
UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Rescuers plucked stranded drivers and people trapped in homes from catastrophic flooding in Texas while many more fled to higher ground Thursday across a region still recovering from devastating floods just a year ago.
After days of pounding rain, the National Weather Service in San Antonio said a “large and deadly flood wave” was barreling down the same river wrecked by flash floods last summer when two dozen children and counselors were killed at Camp Mystic. There was no immediate word of any deaths or injuries from the latest flooding.
Forecasters urgently warned “Move to higher ground now!” as rivers rose hour by hour, turning them into fast-moving seas of white water. Several tornado warnings were also issued.
The Texas Hill Country floods over the July Fourth holiday last year killed more than 100 people.
“It’s crazy happening two times in one year,” said Josiah Rodriguez, who woke to the sound of heavy rain around 2 a.m. Thursday in Kerrville. He navigated flooded roads to help evacuate relatives.
“Last year there was no warning of it,” he said. “It just kind of happened overnight and it took everyone by surprise. This year, a lot more alerts have gone into place, a lot more safety measures.”
Residents said they were caught off guard a year ago and didn’t receive any warning when floods overtopped the Guadalupe River. Some local leaders were criticized for not acting quickly.
The storms and flooding this time threatened multiple counties close to the border with Mexico and in the Texas Hill Country near San Antonio. City officials in Kerrville urged people to shelter at the highest levels of their homes.
Images along a creek in Kerr County showed propane tanks that had been pushed onto a bridge and a mess of tangled trees.
Floodwaters overran the city of Uvalde overnight, cutting off outside access. The Leona River, normally dry most of the year, filled streets with water.
“People really can’t get anywhere” said Carmen Rodriguez, who was nervously watching water engulf her neighborhood Thursday morning as a helicopter roared overhead. “We have a place to go, but all the streets are closed.”
Phones buzzed with warnings throughout the night warning of flash floods in the morning. Rodriguez said it seemed that authorities were well prepared. By Wednesday, Uvalde police had ordered some mandatory evacuations, with first responders notifying people directly.
Uvalde officials sent out rescue boats and found multiple people trapped in vehicles overnight, said Juli Alvarado, a spokesperson for Uvalde police.
“There’s no way into the city at this point,” she said.
Texas Game Wardens rescued more than 40 people and evacuated about a dozen others, mostly in the Uvalde County area, according to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesperson.
The floodwaters were expected to reach a crest similar to last year's flood, the weather service said.
Gauges in some spots along the Guadalupe River showed it rose by more than 30 feet (9 meters) in just hours overnight. One gauge outside Kerrville showed the river had risen 32 feet (9.7 meters) in four hours.
Close to Camp Mystic, which remains shut, the Guadalupe River near Hunt reached about 20.5 feet (6.3 meters), according to a U.S. Geological Survey gauge, which is just under the level expected to inundate structures and roads.
Volunteer firefighters spent the night helping people evacuate their homes and answering calls about rising water in Ingram, just up river from Hunt, where summer camps dot the shores of the Guadalupe, Ingram Mayor Claud Jordan said Thursday morning.
While the water didn’t rise as high as a year ago, he believes this round of flooding was more widespread and “worse” in his city. “The rural part of Ingram, all the roads are just trashed,” he said.
“There are a bunch of businesses that haven’t reopened from last year. They’re still trying to rebuild from the July 4 floods,” Jordan said. “This doesn’t help.”
Residents at an RV park in Comfort, Texas, near the Guadalupe River moved their trailers as local fire department sirens sounded, manager Duke Earwood said Thursday.
Water rose over the hoods of vehicles parked closest to the river.
While the water started to recede, another surge was expected, Earwood said at the Comfort RV Resort, which has about 200 residents. “People need to know to just kind of stay put for now,” he said.
Markers showed the flooding already matched the level from the big flood last July.
“Too familiar for sure, and too soon,” Earwood said.
The Texas Hill Country is especially prone to flash floods because the area’s signature limestone is covered by just a thin layer of soil. During heavy rains, water can quickly shoot downhill before quickly filling the narrow river basins.
The weather service said 10 to 20 inches of rain (25 to 50 centimeters) had fallen in the past two days, with 8 inches (20 centimeters) in just two hours early Thursday.
The deluge dumped nearly a foot of rain in some counties and put people in multiple counties under flood watches, with some were expected to remain in effect through Friday evening.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued disaster declarations for dozens of counties. As of late Wednesday, six million residents in 57 counties were under a National Weather Service flood watch.
Stengle reported from Dallas. Associated Press writers Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Michael Phillis in Washington; Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.
Mike Erulenfeld and Kala Martin walks back to his truck after watching as the Pedernales River floods near Old Kerr Highway on Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Fredericksburg, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
The Pedernales River floods along State Highway 16 on Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Fredericksburg, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
Mike Erulenfeld and Kala Martin watch as the Pedernales River floods near Old Kerr Highway on Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Fredericksburg, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
The Pedernales River floods underneath State Highway 87 on Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Fredericksburg, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
A small fish is stranded on a sidewalk after flood waters subsided on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Boerne, Texas. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
Reece Noble, left, and Gavyn Steffek, photograph a tortoise they found in flood waters on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Boerne, Texas. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
Members of the Boerne Fire Dept. rescue a woman from flood waters on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Boerne, Texas. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
A flood-damaged car hangs from a fence on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Boerne, Texas. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
Members of the Boerne Fire Dept. prepare to perform a water rescue on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Boerne, Texas. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
