The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced this Thursday that Abraham Hermosillo Álvarez, an illegal immigrant of Mexican origin, 31 years old, living in the state of Nebraska, was the mastermind behind the terrorist plan aimed at attacking the UFC 250 event held at the White House last weekend.
The undocumented individual was arrested by the Trump administration on June 14 during a raid at an abandoned church in the state. Álvarez, who used the alias "Shepherd" in the encrypted chats accessed by the FBI and which are now part of the case, is accused of leading a conspiracy to carry out a mass attack that would claim the lives of officials and thousands of attendees at the event.
Four of Álvarez's accomplices were also arrested and charged for participating in the conspiracy. Prosecutors allege that the group planned to use drones loaded with explosives to trigger an evacuation before deploying snipers to shoot at "high-value targets" within the crowd.
The mastermind behind the terrorist plan that aimed to attack the White House with drones is an illegal Mexican immigrant
The five defendants could face life sentences
The illegal immigrant organized the terrorist plot through encrypted group chats, where he allegedly discussed obtaining drones and explosives, and urged his accomplices to make the attack "as deadly as possible." He planned positions for the snipers, drone launch sites, and escape routes.
Álvarez entered the U.S. on a tourist visa and has remained in the country illegally since December 2001. In 2014, he received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. "This illegal foreigner from Mexico should never have been admitted to our country," said Acting Assistant Secretary of DHS, Lauren Bis, who added that Trump's ICE has already issued a detainer order against him.
The FBI, the Department of Justice, the Secret Service, and other security agencies participated in the operation that successfully dismantled the terrorist plan. If Álvarez and the other defendants are convicted, they face potential sentences of up to life in prison.
UFC 250 at the White House last weekend was a historic event where Trump participated
