Two more arrests in alleged plot to attack Trump cage fight

WASHINGTON: The US justice department announced two more arrests Monday over an alleged plot to attack the White House while President Donald Trump was hosting a mixed martial arts fight on the lawn.

The department first announced charges against five men on June 16 and said plotters had planned to fly drones armed with explosives over the event on Trump’s 80th birthday, forcing an evacuation. Then, snipers would allegedly fire on “high value targets” in the fleeing crowd, the complaint says.

These five men ranged in age from 19 to 32 and were arrested in Ohio, California, Missouri and Nebraska.

The two new arrests came in recent days in Washington state and Missouri, the department said in a statement. Both are charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

The first suspect, named as William Falkner, was described as having experience with drones and is accused specifically of discussing how to load such aircraft with explosives, configure them and fly them for the attack on the UFC fight event, the statement said.

The other suspect, Jordan Rincker, is accused of agreeing to build drone parts.

Trump joined some 4,000 fans at the White House fights, watching from ringside at a temporary arena dubbed “The Claw” and erected on the South Lawn.

The “UFC Freedom 250” event was meant to kick off this year’s festivities for the 250th anniversary of the declaration of US independence.

Trump has faced several assassination attempts in recent years, most recently when a gunman tried to storm a White House press gala he was attending in April.

Critics of the unprecedented UFC event called it a garish celebration of blood sport and a debasement of the White House, the revered symbol of the American presidency, in Trump’s latest shattering of tradition.