联邦调查局副局长克里斯·拉亚称，嫌疑人当时处于监控之下，活动举办时无人身处华盛顿附近
2026年6月23日 美国东部时间上午11:15 / 福克斯新闻
作者：摩根·菲利普斯 福克斯新闻
联邦调查局联合副局长克里斯·拉亚向福克斯新闻数字频道表示，特工与特勤局当时正在监控嫌疑人，在活动前已实施逮捕，随着大规模调查持续推进，目前仍在追查更多被捕人员。
独家报道：就在联邦特工全力捣毁针对总统唐纳德·特朗普的UFC“自由250”赛事的疑似袭击阴谋时，调查人员同时做出了另一项关键判断：白宫赛事本身能否安全举办。
在周一接受福克斯新闻数字频道采访时，联邦调查局副局长克里斯·拉亚表示，调查人员认为在赛事举办前已充分破坏了疑似阴谋，他称特工一直在监控嫌疑人，并确认活动举办时没有任何人身处华盛顿地区。
“我们完全有信心推进（UFC赛事），”拉亚说道。“我们有信心破坏了该主要阴谋。”
联邦调查局最初逮捕了5名涉嫌在6月14日赛事中杀害议员与参会者的嫌犯。此后，检方又公开指认了另外两名被告，这引发了人们的疑问：为何在调查人员仍在追查其他涉案人员的情况下，赛事仍获准继续举办。
与UFC赛事相关的白宫疑似袭击计划的5个令人不寒而栗的细节
拉亚表示，额外的被告是该阴谋的“追随者”而非主谋。
“我们确信我们已经抓获了主谋、该阴谋的主要策划者，所以其余的人更多是你现在看到的那种追随者。”
“现场安保非常严密，”副总统JD·万斯在6月16日做客福克斯新闻《五点档》节目时表示。“后来证明这个阴谋没那么高明。他们根本不在城里。”
被指控在UFC“自由250”赛事期间针对总统唐纳德·特朗普及其他官员的5名嫌犯。从左至右：丹尼尔·K·埃斯克里奇、亚伯拉罕·埃尔莫西约·阿尔瓦雷斯、布莱恩·奥马尔·罗阿、迈克尔·艾伦·托马斯和泰森·C·普罗珀。（杰奎琳·马丁——泳池/Getty Images）
据悉，这一问题引发了联邦机构之间的紧张关系。
两名美国高级官员此前告诉福克斯新闻，特勤局领导层希望推迟公开披露调查，直到能抓获更多嫌犯，他们担心公开调查可能会提醒其他目标对象，使正在进行的案件复杂化。
拉亚表示，联邦调查局并不认同这些担忧，他称调查人员当时已经在监控疑似主谋和其他涉案嫌疑人。
FBI指认第六名涉嫌使用无人机和狙击手针对UFC“自由250”赛事的嫌犯
“我们早就控制住了局面，或者说我会称之为很早就进行了干预，尽管我们当时还没有实施逮捕，”他说。“我们一直在监视策划此事的人。我们对他们进行了监控。所以我们知道，在赛事举办期间，没有人接近华盛顿特区地区。”
尽管在何时公开披露调查方面存在报道分歧，拉亚强调，联邦调查局和特勤局在整个案件中密切合作。
“这是我们和特勤局联合办理的案件，”拉亚说道。
据拉亚介绍，两家机构在共同评估威胁后才决定赛事可以继续举办。
“我们全体开会讨论，共同做出了推进UFC 250赛事的决定，”他告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。
特勤局副局长马修·奎因在一场无关活动中回应相关问题时强调，特勤局“从一开始就主导了这项调查”，并暗示调查人员在案件仍在侦办期间故意避免公开披露。
“为了维护调查的完整性和安保计划，我们选择不泄露信息，”奎因在6月16日的新闻发布会上说道。
拉亚是一名资深联邦调查局特工，曾任该局纽约分局局长，在前副局长丹·邦吉诺离职后，于今年1月被任命为联邦调查局联合副局长。在领导纽约分局之前，拉亚曾担任联邦调查局高级反恐官员之一，自2003年起就在该局任职。
唐纳德·特朗普总统坐在达纳·怀特和第一夫人之间。（埃文·武奇/路透社）
根据法庭记录，疑似共谋者最初通过一个名为“古老先锋”的TikTok社区建立联系，随后将讨论转移至Signal、Telegram和SimpleX等加密通讯平台。调查人员称，成员们按照层级分工，包括一线行动人员、无人机操作员、招募人员、后勤人员和技术支持人员。
法庭记录显示，该网络规模远超最初被指控的嫌犯。在获取俄亥俄州被告泰森·普罗珀的手机搜查令后，调查人员据称发现一个包含约19名参与者的主要Signal聊天群，以及按角色和地点划分的小型行动聊天组。
拉亚表示，该案远未结案：目前有14至15个联邦调查局分局协助调查。
“我们将继续积极追查此案，”他说。“你揭开一层，就会看到四层新的线索。”
该案也凸显了联邦调查局面临的最大调查挑战之一：加密通讯平台。
“这是我们在加密通讯平台方面的一个短板，”拉亚说道。
拉亚表示，调查人员试图通过机密线人、卧底特工和其他合法调查手段渗透这些网络。
“我们显然会尝试通过机密线人、卧底特工渗透，当然这一切都在宪法框架内，”他说，此处指代“机密人类线人”和“卧底雇员”。
但拉亚承认，联邦调查局无法监控到所有可能存在犯罪活动的加密聊天群。
在UFC案件中，他指出普罗珀的母亲是促使调查人员在阴谋进一步升级前揭露该疑似阴谋的关键人物。
“是一位忧心忡忡的家长真正开启了整个UFC 250案件的调查，”拉亚说道。“这位家长打电话举报了自己的儿子。”
这一线索最终引导调查人员找到了普罗珀的手机以及检方所称包含无人机、狙击手位置、逃跑路线和袭击策划讨论的加密聊天网络。拉亚表示，如果没有这通初始举报电话，该疑似阴谋可能仍隐藏在持续困扰执法部门的加密平台背后。
UFC案件也反映了联邦调查局官员所称的威胁环境的更广泛转变。调查人员越来越担忧的不再是大型、层级化的恐怖组织，而是可能在网上组织起来、获取商用技术、几乎无需外部支持就能制定袭击计划的独行侠和小型团体。
“相比‘9·11’式的大规模袭击，我更担心单个独行侠、单个攻击者，”他说。
在讨论国际足联世界杯的安保准备工作时，他将无人机袭击列为联邦调查局最担忧的威胁之一，并警告称海外战场上出现的战术最终可能会蔓延至美国。
调查人员称，有迹象表明疑似网络可能考虑了白宫UFC赛事之外的目标。
在一份新公开的法庭文件中，一名联邦调查局特工表示，他认为涉嫌共谋者之间的交流提到了可能针对7月3日在密苏里州堪萨斯城举办的一场国际足联世界杯比赛的袭击。
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“我认为这是一种正在出现的威胁，”拉亚说道。“我们已经在海外见过这种情况，有人将这种袭击手段、这种威胁类型带到美国只是时间问题。”
UFC疑似袭击案就体现了这些担忧中的许多方面。检方称，该团伙使用加密通讯、将成员划分为专业角色、讨论无人机行动并在多个州协调活动，而无需依赖传统恐怖组织或外国网络。
本篇报道是福克斯新闻数字频道对联邦调查局副局长克里斯·拉亚独家采访的一部分。采访的更多后续报道将在未来几天发布。
福克斯新闻记者迈克·鲁伊斯为本篇报道补充了采访内容。
FBI reveals why Trump White House UFC event went ahead despite alleged terror plot
Deputy Director Chris Raia said suspects were under surveillance and none were near Washington when the event was held
June 23, 2026 11:15am EDT / Fox News
By Morgan Phillips Fox News
FBI co-Deputy Director Chris Raia tells Fox News Digital that agents and the Secret Service had suspects under surveillance, made arrests ahead of the event and are still pursuing additional arrests as a sprawling investigation continues.
EXCLUSIVE: As federal agents raced to dismantle an alleged plot targeting President Donald Trump’s UFC Freedom 250 event, investigators were simultaneously making another critical determination: whether the White House event itself could safely go forward.
In a Monday interview with Fox News Digital, FBI Deputy Director Chris Raia said investigators believed they had sufficiently disrupted the alleged conspiracy before the event took place, arguing that agents were monitoring suspects and knew none were in the Washington area when the UFC event was held.
“We absolutely felt very comfortable moving (the UFC event) forward,” Raia said. “We were confident that we had disrupted that main plot.”
The FBI initially arrested five people accused of participating in the plot to kill lawmakers and attendees at the June 14 event. Since then, prosecutors have publicly identified two additional defendants, raising questions about why the event was allowed to proceed while investigators continued pursuing other alleged participants.
5 CHILLING DETAILS FROM THE ALLEGED WHITE HOUSE ATTACK PLOT TIED TO UFC EVENT
Raia said the additional defendants were “followers” rather than leaders of the conspiracy.
“We were confident that we had the leaders, the main plotters of that, so the rest of the folks were more of the followers that you’re seeing now.”
“There was a lot of security there,” Vice President JD Vance said during a June 16 appearance on Fox News’ “The Five.” “And it turns out the plot was like, not that advanced. They weren’t in town.”
The five suspects charged in an alleged plot targeting President Donald Trump and other officials during the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House. From left: Daniel K. Eskridge, Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, Bryan Omar Roa, Michael Alan Thomas and Tycen C. Proper.(Jacquelyn Martin- Pool/Getty Images)
The issue reportedly sparked tensions between federal agencies.
Two senior U.S. officials previously told Fox News that Secret Service leadership wanted to delay publicly disclosing the investigation until additional arrests could be made, fearing that revealing the probe could alert other subjects and complicate the ongoing case.
Raia said the FBI did not share those concerns, arguing that investigators were already monitoring both the alleged ringleaders and other suspected participants.
FBI NAMES SIXTH SUSPECT IN ALLEGED PLOT TO USE DRONES AND SNIPERS TO TARGET UFC FREEDOM 250 EVENT
“We had that contained or what I would call mitigated very early on even though we didn’t do the arrests,” he said. “We were watching the folks that were planning it. We had them under surveillance. And so we knew that nobody was even close to the DC area at the time that was happening.”
Despite reported disagreements over when to publicly disclose the investigation, Raia emphasized that the FBI and Secret Service worked closely throughout the case.
“That was a joint case with us and the Secret Service,” Raia said.
The agencies jointly assessed the threat before deciding the event could proceed, according to Raia.
“We all talked about that as a group and made that decision to move forward with the UFC 250 event,” he told Fox News Digital.
Deputy Secret Service Director Matthew Quinn, responding to questions about the case at an unrelated event, emphasized that the Secret Service had “led that investigation from the beginning” and suggested investigators intentionally avoided public disclosure while the case remained active.
“In order to maintain the integrity of the investigation and the security plan we chose not to leak it,” Quinn said during a June 16 press conference.
Raia, a career FBI agent and former head of the bureau’s New York Field Office, was appointed FBI co-deputy director in January after the departure of former Deputy Director Dan Bongino. Before leading the New York office, Raia served as one of the FBI’s top counterterrorism officials and has been with the bureau since 2003.
President Donald Trump seated between Dana White and the First Lady.(Evan Vucci/Reuters)
According to court records, the alleged conspirators first connected through a TikTok community known as “Vanguard of the Old” before moving their discussions to encrypted messaging platforms including Signal, Telegram and SimpleX. Investigators say members organized themselves into tiered roles that included frontline operators, drone operators, recruiters, logistics personnel and technical support.
Court records indicate the network extended well beyond the suspects initially charged. After obtaining a warrant for the phone of Ohio defendant Tycen Proper, investigators allegedly discovered a primary Signal chat containing approximately 19 participants, along with smaller operational chats organized by role and location.
Raia said the case is far from closed: 14 to 15 FBI field offices are assisting in the investigation.
“We’re going to continue to work that case aggressively,” he said. “You uncover one layer, and you see four more layers.”
The case also underscored one of the FBI’s biggest investigative challenges: encrypted communications platforms.
“That is a gap for us in encrypted communications platforms,” Raia said.
UFC Freedom 250 takes place on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Mon. June 15, 2026.(Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
Raia said investigators attempt to penetrate those networks through confidential human sources, undercover employees and other lawful investigative techniques.
“We try to infiltrate, obviously, with CHSs, UCEs, again, inside the bounds of the Constitution,” he said, referring to “confidential human sources” and “undercover employees.”
But Raia acknowledged the FBI does not have visibility into every encrypted chat where criminal activity may be occurring.
In the UFC case, he pointed to Proper’s mother as the catalyst who helped investigators uncover the alleged conspiracy before it could advance further.
“We had a concerned parent that really launched this entire UFC 250 case off,” Raia said. “Concerned parent called in on her son.”
The tip ultimately led investigators to Proper’s phone and the alleged network of encrypted chats that prosecutors say contained discussions about drones, sniper positions, escape routes and attack planning. Without that initial call, Raia suggested, the alleged plot may have remained hidden inside encrypted platforms that continue to challenge law enforcement visibility.
The UFC case also reflects what FBI officials say is a broader shift in the threat landscape. Rather than large, hierarchical terrorist organizations, investigators are increasingly concerned about lone actors and small groups that can organize online, acquire commercially available technology and develop attack plans with little outside support.
“I’m less concerned about a mass 9/11 style attack than I am a lone single person, a single attacker,” he said.
While discussing security preparations for the FIFA World Cup, he described drone-based attacks as one of the FBI’s top concerns and warned that tactics seen on battlefields overseas could eventually migrate to the United States.
Investigators say they saw signs that the alleged network may have been considering targets beyond the White House UFC event.
In a newly unsealed court filing, an FBI agent said he believed messages exchanged among alleged conspirators referenced a potential attack on a FIFA World Cup match scheduled for July 3 in Kansas City, Missouri.
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“I think that is a threat that is emerging,” Raia said. “We have seen that overseas, and it’s only a matter of time for somebody brings that type of attack, that threat vector here to the United States.”
The alleged UFC plot illustrates many of those concerns. Prosecutors say the group allegedly used encrypted communications, divided members into specialized roles, discussed drone operations and coordinated activity across multiple states without relying on a traditional terrorist organization or foreign network.
This story is part of Fox News Digital’s exclusive interview with FBI Deputy Director Chris Raia. Additional reporting from the interview will be published in the coming days.
Fox News’ Mike Ruiz contributed to this report.
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