The Freedom 250 Plot

Five men have been arrested and charged. The FBI has identified at least 23 additional individuals from the group chats who remain under investigation. The Central District of California complaint names two primary defendants; a third was charged separately in the Southern District of Ohio, and a fourth was arrested in the Western District of Missouri.

The group didn't form at a rally or in a basement. It was built online — primarily through TikTok direct messages — using a vetting process that moved trusted members into progressively more secure encrypted platforms.

According to the federal affidavit, Proper told investigators that members were first identified and evaluated on TikTok. Once an individual had "proven himself" to an established member, he was moved into a vetted Signal chat. The inner circle communicated through SimpleX — a more secure, decentralized encrypted messenger.

The group maintained a large Signal chat of approximately 19 individuals, as well as smaller sub-chats of 4-5 members divided by role and location — including which physical positions each member would occupy during the attack. Their group chats were named "Hunters" (Signal) and "Vanguard of the Old Republic" / "Ops Stage One" (SimpleX).

On June 13, 2026, the FBI executed federal search warrants at the residences of both ROA and THOMAS pursuant to warrants authorized by U.S. Magistrate Judge Anna Y. Park. What they found confirmed the operational nature of the conspiracy.

During his interview with FBI agents on June 13, 2026, THOMAS explained his worldview — and it was not simply anti-government. According to the federal affidavit, THOMAS stated that the U.S. government is run by an elite group who "sacrifice and consume infants," are "deeply involved with Jeffrey Epstein," and are "now protected by President Donald Trump." THOMAS also expressed antisemitic views, placing responsibility for government corruption on Jewish people and blaming them and Israel for the current war with Iran.

PROPER's mother told the FBI that her son had been interacting with a group online that presented themselves as ex-military with "Christian-based ideology," expressing ultra-religious and anti-government sentiments — specifically citing grievances about government corruption, the Epstein files, and data centers consuming water resources.

The FBI's affidavit characterizes the murder plot as "motivated by their anti-government ideology." The group used religion, military aesthetics, and conspiratorial grievances to recruit and radicalize members across multiple states — entirely through social media and encrypted apps.

The plot unraveled because of a mother. On June 10, 2026, at 9:18 p.m., officers with the Knox County Sheriff's Office and Danville Police Department in Ohio were dispatched to a residence in Danville after Tycen Proper's mother called law enforcement, concerned about her son's recent behavior — firearms purchases, new online contacts, references to "missions" and "recons."

When deputies arrived, Proper's family member A.P. told them PROPER had recently acquired camping gear, food, ballistic plates, a new shotgun, a rifle, thousands of rounds of ammunition, extra magazines, and plate carriers — spending approximately $3,000 of his graduation money on tactical equipment. He had also quit his job.

Proper was transported to a local hospital for psychiatric evaluation based on homicidal ideations. The Knox County Sheriff's Office contacted the FBI on June 11, 2026. Within 72 hours, federal agents had identified the full network, executed multiple search warrants across California and Ohio, and made arrests. The attack was stopped before a single shot was fired.