Crime & Law
Chicago Man Charged in Connection With Planned Attack on White House UFC Event
Alex Pereira, far right, is attended to, as Ciryl Gane lays in the center of the ring during UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, June 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo / Alex Brandon, Pool)
Authorities arrested a Chicago man Thursday in connection with an alleged plot to attack President Donald Trump’s Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the White House earlier this month.
The man, 20-year-old Alexander Iniguez Mercado, allegedly participated in a group chat on the messaging app Signal with others who appeared to discuss plans for the attack, according to investigators.
On June 13, the day before the UFC event, an FBI agent called Mercado and asked whether he planned to travel to Washington to assist in the attack, according to the indictment against Mercado. Mercado denied having such plans.
Mercado is charged with obstruction of justice after authorities said he deleted the Signal app from his phone after speaking with the agent in an attempt to destroy evidence of the group chat.
“Obstructing justice in a law enforcement investigation into a planned violent domestic attack is a profoundly serious offense,” embattled U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Andrew Boutros said in a statement. “The investigation in this case involved serious threats to public safety, including the safety of President Donald J. Trump.”
Mercado was scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel A. Fuentes in Chicago at 3 p.m. Friday. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Authorities learned of a potential attack on the UFC event on June 10, four days before it was scheduled to take place. Officials have so far brought federal charges against eight people who they say harbored fringe conspiracy theories and hoped a potential attack would weaken the government.
“The Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office will pursue all appropriate charges against those who act to obstruct law enforcement investigations because safeguarding the public depends on the full, unhindered pursuit of the evidence,” Boutros said.
