COLUMBUS — The 19-year-old Knox County man charged with federal crimes for an alleged planned attack on a White House lawn event waived his right to a detention hearing scheduled Wednesday afternoon.
Tycen Proper, of Danville, waived his right to the hearing Tuesday in the U.S. District Court of Southern Ohio through a filing by federal Public Defender Rosana E. Brown.
A federal detention hearing is to determine whether a defendant will remain in custody or be released while awaiting trial. Unlike state courts, the federal system does not use a standard cash bail/bond schedule.
Instead, a federal magistrate judge decides if the defendant poses a flight risk or a danger to the community.
In her filing, Brown said Proper “agreed to be detained in the custody of the United States Marshal pending final resolution of this matter,” while retaining the right to request such a hearing the future.
Proper has also retained new legal counsel in the case, according to the federal court docket. Strongsville attorney Joseph Patituce will represent Proper going forward.
(Below are PDFS of new federal documents in the case against Tycen Proper of Danville.)
Proper’s arrest may have helped foil a multi-state plan to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event Sunday on the White House South Lawn.
He was reportedly arrested June 10 in Ohio after his mother notified the Danville Police Department and Knox County Sheriff’s Office of concerns about her son’s “recent conduct, including firearms purchases and communicating with certain individuals online,” according to a federal affidavit.
According to an FBI affidavit, Proper is charged with:
— conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States.
— attempted murder of any officer or employee of the United States.
— possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
— receipt or transfer of a firearm used to commit a felony.
Proper was being held without bond at the Franklin County Jail.
According to published reports, the plot involved at least 12 suspects across the United States who adhered to an “accelerationist” ideology and hoped to bring down American capitalism, according to federal law enforcement sources.
FBI Director Kash Patel posted the following statement Tuesday on his X account:
“On June 10, FBI and our law enforcement partners became aware of a potential threat to the UFC America 250 event in Washington, D.C. involving individuals outside of the National Capital Region – and thanks to the rapid action of this FBI, our partners, and the Department of Justice in a multi-state operation, multiple individuals are now in custody and allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold,” Patel said.
“While the result represented the best of investigative work, it was also nothing out of the ordinary for this law enforcement team – we are built to detect, respond to, and bring to justice those who threaten the lives of American citizens – particularly during large gatherings like the historic UFC 250 fight. That’s exactly what we did here. I want to thank our great agents and partners, this work remains ongoing and we will continue to update the public as permitted.”
A press release Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Justice detailed the involvement of the other four men across the country who were also arrested, including Bryan Roa and Michael Thomas in California, Daniel Eskridge in Missouri, and Abraham Alvarez in Nebraska.
The multi-phase plot called for explosive drones to strike the South Lawn during the event, forcing attendees to flee outside the White House grounds where they could be picked off by a sniper team, officials said.
The FBI foiled their plans by infiltrating a Signal chat group planning the devastating attack, according to the affidavit.