A Chicago man is now the eighth person to be federally charged in connection with an alleged plot to attack last month's UFC event at the White House.
Alexander Iniguez Mercado, 20, was arrested on Thursday (June 25) and charged with obstruction of justice. Prosecutors allege that he deleted the Signal app from his phone after speaking with an FBI agent on June 13, the day before the UFC event was scheduled to take place, making messages tied to the alleged plot unavailable to investigators.
According to a federal indictment out of the Northern District of Illinois, Mercado served as an administrator of Signal messaging groups whose members allegedly communicated about planning a violent assault targeting the White House event on June 14. Prosecutors say he was also recruiting others into the group.
Authorities say that the alleged plot consisted of flying drones over the UFC crowd and detonating explosives above those in attendance. Afterwards, those plotting the attack would shoot at survivors as they fled, using sniper rifles and other weapons. Officials said those involved harbored fringe conspiracy theories and hoped the attack would destabilize the government.
After the FBI phone call on June 13, Mercado allegedly reached out to a high-ranking co-conspirator to warn that the bureau was investigating. That individual remains at large.
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Andrew Boutros stressed the severity of the charge. "Obstructing justice in a law enforcement investigation into a planned violent domestic attack is a profoundly serious offense," he said in a press release from the Justice Department.
"The investigation in this case involved serious threats to public safety, including the safety of President Donald J. Trump, other members of government, as well as the many attendees and athletes who attended the event at the White House."
During a court appearance on Friday (June 26), Mercado's attorney, Jonathan Brooks, pushed back on the framing, telling the judge that "there's no indication my client even knows who these people are because it's an online group."
Mercado has entered a not guilty plea. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Seven other people across multiple states had been charged in the alleged plot before Mercado's arrest, including individuals from Ohio, California, Missouri, Nebraska, and Washington state.