Photo: Alamy
The Department of Homeland Security announced on Thursday that authorities have identified a Nebraska man as the alleged architect of a disrupted terrorist plot targeting last weekend’s UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House.
Federal officials say Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, a 31-year-old Mexican national living in Omaha, coordinated a multistate conspiracy that allegedly sought to carry out a mass-casualty attack against government officials and attendees at the high-profile event.
Alvarez was arrested on June 14 during a law enforcement raid at an abandoned church in Western, Nebraska.
According to court filings, Alvarez allegedly operated under the alias “Shepherd” and used encrypted communications to direct planning efforts. Prosecutors claim he and four co-defendants discussed deploying explosive-laden drones to trigger panic and evacuation before sniper teams targeted fleeing attendees and other “high-value targets.”
The Justice Department has charged Alvarez and four other suspects arrested in Ohio, Missouri, and California with conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit violence on White House grounds.
Investigators allege Alvarez played a leadership role in the operation, including identifying sniper locations, drone launch sites, and escape routes. Court documents also claim he encouraged participants to make the attack “as deadly as we can get.”
DHS stated that Alvarez entered the United States on a B-2 visitor visa and allegedly remained in the country after that visa expired in December 2001. The department said he later received protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in 2014.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged an immigration detainer against Alvarez.
“This illegal alien from Mexico should never have been allowed in our country,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement, adding that Alvarez and his alleged co-conspirators “will face justice.”
The FBI said the investigation began on June 10 after authorities received information about a potential threat to the event. Officials credited a coordinated effort involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, United States Secret Service, and other law enforcement partners with disrupting the alleged plot before it could be executed.
ufIf convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, Alvarez and the other defendants could face sentences of up to life in prison.