An illegal immigrant from Mexico who is a recipient of the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program has been identified by federal agencies as the “ringleader” in a plot to carry out a terrorist attack at the White House UFC Freedom 250 event in Washington, D.C., last week.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Thursday morning that Abraham Alvarez, a 31-year-old Mexican national, oversaw plans to execute a mass casualty attack on June 14.
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Alvarez was one of five co-conspirators arrested across Ohio, Missouri, and California, and is believed to have overseen a plan to use drones to carry out the assault. He went by the alias of “Shepherd.”
Alvarez first entered the United States on a B-2 visitor visa in 2001, when he was a child. His parents or guardian failed to ensure that he returned home before the visa expired.
He then applied for DACA, an Obama-era program that provides legal work documents and protection from deportation to illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. as children. That status expires every two years and it is unclear if his DACA status was renewed during the Trump administration’s first or second terms, or during the Biden administration.
“This illegal alien from Mexico should never have been allowed in our country. He was the ringleader of a failed terror attack targeting UFC Freedom 250 at the White House,” DHS spokeswoman Lauren Bis in a statement. “He and his co-conspirators now face charges of conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit violence on White House grounds. He will face justice and swiftly be removed from our country.”
The FBI arrested Alvarez at a residence in Obama, Nebraska, on June 14 as a suspect in a plot to conduct a domestic terrorism attack on government officials and spectators at the Sunday event.
The Justice Department’s announcement of the charges stated that Alvarez “was responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the planned attack, based on conversation excerpts in June when Shepherd posted, ‘This is the best action I see. Position your teams in the purple dots (counter sniper and drones) Long range (circled area) (great shot) Easy out into the river.]
Alvarez is also believed to have posted additional messages about strapping explosives to drones, writing, “As many and as deadly as we can get.”
All five individuals were charged on Tuesday in federal court for 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 to be turned over from federal authorities for deportation proceedings once he is through legal proceedings.
