Mexican National Identified as Ringleader in Alleged Terror Plot at UFC Event

Abraham Alvarez, a 31-year-old Mexican national and recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, has been identified by federal agencies as the ringleader in a plot to carry out a terrorist attack at the UFC Freedom 250 event in Washington, D.C., on June 14. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Alvarez oversaw plans for a mass casualty attack using drones. He was arrested along with four co-conspirators in Ohio, Missouri, and California. Alvarez entered the U.S. on a B-2 visitor visa in 2001 and later applied for DACA, which provides legal work documents and protection from deportation to immigrants who entered the U.S. as children. The FBI arrested him in Obama, Nebraska, as part of the investigation into the plot. He faces charges of conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit violence on White House grounds. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has issued a detainer for Alvarez for deportation proceedings following the legal process.