WV lawmaker, congressional delegation listed as targets in foiled UFC terror plot, court records say

Men charged in a foiled domestic terror plot intended for the Ultimate Fighting Championship match on the White House lawn Sunday meant to target a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and the state’s entire congressional delegation, court documents show.

State Del. Tristin Leavitt, R-Kanawha, as well as U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice, Reps. Carol Miller and Riley Moore — all Republicans representing West Virginia — were among a list of government officials that were targeted “due to their support for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee,” according to the criminal complaint against Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez.

Alvarez, 31, of Omaha, Nebraska, is one of five men who were arrested and charged with plotting to attack and kill government officials and others attending the Ultimate Fighting Championship Freedom 250 event at the White House Sunday. 

According to the FBI, the five planned to deploy drones armed with explosives in order to force an evacuation of the event and then planned to deploy snipers to fire upon “high value targets” within the crowd.

The FBI made arrests over the weekend in Ohio, Missouri, Nebraska and California, according to a news release from the agency. 

Also charged were Tycen C. Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio; Bryan Omar Roa, 24, of Calimesa, California; Michael Alan Thomas, 32, of Pinon Hills, California; and Daniel K. Eskridge, 32, of Kidder, Missouri. 

In the FBI news release, director Kash Patel said law enforcement learned of the terror plot June 10 and thanks to “rapid action” from the FBI and partners, the planned attacks were “stopped cold.”

“While the result represented the best of investigative work, it was also nothing out of the ordinary for this law enforcement team — we are built to detect, respond to, and bring to justice those who threaten the lives of American citizens — particularly during large gatherings like the historic UFC 250 fight,” Patel said in the statement. “That’s exactly what we did here. I want to thank our great agents and partners, this work remains ongoing and we will continue to update the public as permitted.”

Leavitt told West Virginia Watch Wednesday he learned he was a target from a reporter as he was driving back from legislative interim meetings in Canaan Valley, West Virginia, on Tuesday. 

“I think it’s sad that on a number of issues, the political dialogue has become so heated that people think that they need to resort to violence to cause revolution,” Leavitt said. “I think some of the different issues that appear to be motivating the plotters, like primarily Israel, apparently, but also, a fear that data centers are taking up all of the water everywhere, or that there was a giant (Jeffrey) Epstein conspiracy. The fact that would lead a group of individuals to feel like they needed to go and commit an act of mass violence is just a very sad commentary on where our society is at right now.”

Leavitt posted on the social media platform X that he is not intimidated and will not be silenced for “standing up for the people of West Virginia or our allies, including Israel.” 

Leavitt said he did not attend the UFC event at the White House. He noted that he traveled to Israel in November 2025 with support from the American Israel Education Fund and posted about it on his social media accounts, which he suspects may be how the plotters knew of his support for Israel.

“I’ve always been someone who, when I have an opportunity, likes to do my own firsthand kind of research or fact finding,” Leavitt said. “And it was just a few weeks after the ceasefire with Gaza. I was there for eight or nine days, and really learned a lot. I had a wonderful experience.”

Leavitt said people having more in-person conversations with others about hard topics would help to lower the temperature on political conversations and lessen political violence. 

“I just would love to see more constructive dialog,” he said. “I know people need to be heard — that’s an important piece of that, but I just think it’s so important to emphasize violence is never the answer.

“Often it feels like some of these issues and challenges are far removed from us, and whenever I visit D.C., I thank goodness that I live in West Virginia, but, we do still see again a lot of, kind of heated temperatures here over different issues at times. I just think it’s really important to encourage people to, again, be willing to talk to one another, talk to people across political or issue divides, and recognize that we are all just trying to make our state better.”

Representatives for Capito, Moore and Justice said none of them had attended the UFC fight. A spokesman for Miller did not immediately respond to questions from West Virginia Watch. 

In separate statements, members of West Virginia’s congressional delegation thanked the FBI and Patel along with law enforcement for stopping the planned attack. 

“These are scary times, and that’s troubling,” Capito said in the statement. “I am grateful to the FBI and our law enforcement partners for their professionalism, commitment, and diligence to prevent any attacks on elected officials or events.”

“Learning that members of Congress, including myself, have been among those targeted in this plot should not be tolerated,” Justice said in the statement.” But what I do know is that I am incredibly grateful for the brave folks working hard behind the scenes. They put their own lives on the line to keep me and thousands of others safe, and I won’t forget it. There is no place in this great country for violence — full stop. It’s a relief that our agencies have identified the individuals who planned to carry out this evil act and are swiftly arresting and charging them.”

Moore posted on X that he is “forever grateful” to the FBI and Capitol Police for their swift action to keep people safe.

“I also pray for the perpetrators of this horrific plot. May they have a conversion of the heart, repent, and find salvation in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace,” he wrote.

This is a developing story and may be updated.