The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Thursday that the head of an unsuccessful terrorist attack planned against the UFC fight Sunday at the White House was an illegal alien.
The Mexican national, Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, was arrested Sunday. DHS said he was a B-2 tourist visa holder who remained in the country after his visa expired in 2001. DHS also said he had been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protections by the Obama administration. (RELATED: The UFC Fights Were Downright Awesome. Stop Pretending Otherwise)
DACA, established in 2012, was designed to protect eligible undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, also known as Dreamers, from deportation while allowing them the opportunity to receive a renewable two-year work permit.
“This illegal alien should NEVER have been allowed in our country — and we will ensure he faces justice and is swiftly removed from our nation,” the DHS statement said, adding that a detainer had been placed on him.
The alleged RINGLEADER of the failed terror attack targeting UFC Freedom 250 is an ILLEGAL ALIEN.
Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, from Mexico, planned, organized, and directed the planned attack. He was arrested by the @FBI on June 14, and @ICEgov has lodged a detainer against him.… https://t.co/yhwCNYmwdc pic.twitter.com/VWP1rTFBnr
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) June 18, 2026
Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel said Tuesday that the bureau’s partners became aware of the terrorist plot June 10 and that multiple individuals had since been taken into custody as their “allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold.”
“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,” Patel said. “I want to thank our great agents and partners. This work remains ongoing, and we will continue to update the public as permitted.”
Alvarez, who used the code name “Shepard,” allegedly led a group of five multi-state actors in the terrorist plot, according to a Tuesday Department of Justice (DOJ) statement.
“This is the best action I see. Position your teams in the purple dots (counter snipers and drones). Long range (circled area) (great shot). Easy out into the river,” Alvarez allegedly said in June, according to the statement. The DOJ added that he had been discussing the making of drones and explosives, saying, “As many and as deadly as we can get.”
He also allegedly instructed his team to set up a safe zone at an old church in Nebraska and shared locations for drone launch points and sniper positions, the DOJ alleged.