The FBI investigation into the foiled terror plan targeting UFC Freedom 250 at the White House has resulted in another arrest, this time in Illinois. Federal prosecutors have charged 20-year-old Chicago resident Alexander Iniguez Mercado on charges of obstructing justice.

According to the authorities, Mercado allegedly served as an admin for a Signal group, which authorities believe was used by the domestic terror cell to prepare a drone and sniper attack on the outdoor UFC event. As per court documents the FBI contacted Mercado the day before the event to inquire about potential threats to the venue and whether he planned to travel to Washington, D.C.

The 20-year-old allegedly denied having any travel plans in place, ended the call, and immediately removed Signal from his phone. Prosecutors believe this was an attempt to remove potential evidence before investigators could access the encrypted messages.

“Obstructing justice in a law enforcement investigation into a planned violent domestic attack is a profoundly serious offense,” Andrew Boutrous, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said.

So now, if convicted, Alexander Iniguez Mercado could face up to 20 years in federal prison. It is worth noting that the 20-year-old is at least the eighth person charged in the investigation. Last week, investigators arrested Jordan Rincker of Missouri and William Lee Falkner of Washington.

According to court documents, the group allegedly planned to use drones to drop explosives over the crowd on the South Lawn, causing a stampede that would push people toward a covert sniper team.

According to investigators, Rincker allegedly supplied another member of the group with a pump-action shotgun, paid for one suspect’s trip to Washington, D.C., and even considered utilizing a 3D printer to make drone components.

William Lee Falkner, meanwhile, allegedly stated in Telegram chats that he could fly up to 40 drones simultaneously. He also reportedly discussed attaching artillery shells to them, claiming they would have an effective kill radius of roughly 50 meters.

“I’m pretty sure the effective kill radius is 50 meters,” Falkner said. “It will be loud, but it’ll be quick.”

Prosecutors claim Falkner also stated that the group’s ultimate target was Donald Trump, and that they wanted to avoid a lone shooter approach.

“Every week now we hear some guy went over there alone with a gun and gets shot,” Falkner added. “I don’t get what’s so hard about just flying a few drones and getting some help to do so.”

The case began with a tip from an unusual source: the mother of Ohio suspect Tycen Proper. Concerned about her son’s growing firearms collection and troubling internet interactions, she contacted local police.

When the FBI searched Proper’s room, they allegedly found a journal with a hit list of 46 individuals, including prominent politicians and celebrities. Investigators say his phone then helped them trace the group’s communications and infiltrate the chat. But if the threat was so serious, why was the event greenlit in the very first place?

Why officials still allowed the White House event to happen?

Major sporting events have long been viewed as potential targets for extremist attacks, particularly following tragedies such as the Munich massacre and the Boston Marathon bombing. These attacks significantly changed how authorities handled security for large public gatherings, particularly those involving political figures or massive crowds.

So it’s not surprising that many people questioned why the White House event took place despite the alleged terror plot. Well, according to FBI Deputy Director Chris Raia, investigators had already identified and disrupted the core group before fight night.

“We were confident that we had the leaders, the main plotters of that, so the rest of the folks were more of the followers that you’re seeing now,” Raia told Fox News. “We had that contained, or what I would call mitigated, very early on even though we didn’t do the arrests.

“We were watching the folks that were planning it. We had them under surveillance. And so we knew that nobody was even close to the DC area at the time that was happening.”

However, it is worth noting that the decision wasn’t without disagreement. The Secret Service wanted to postpone the broadcast and keep the event on hold until all remaining suspects were caught. The FBI disagreed, claiming that its surveillance operation was strong enough to detect any unexpected activity without canceling the event.

“That was a joint case with us and the Secret Service,” Raia added. “We all talked about that as a group and made that decision to move forward with the UFC 250 event.”

Despite the events unfolding behind the scenes, UFC CEO Dana White didn’t appear very concerned. Speaking with TMZ Sports, the head honcho said that the suspected drone plot wasn’t the only security concern dealt with by officials over the weekend, which also coincided with President Trump’s 80th birthday.

While he admitted that high-profile events often inevitably attract threats, he praised the FBI for acting fast and stated that fans and fighters were never in real danger.

“There was more than [that plot],” the Dana White said. “These are the kind of events that bring the nuts out; this is normal stuff. I mean, these guys are so good at what they do.

“Listen, here’s the reality: There was no safer place in America to be on Sunday night than in DC.”

And we all know how fearless Dana White is. After all, he’s the same man whose first reaction to the shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner two months ago was talking about how awesome an experience it truly was for him.

“All of a sudden, it just started getting noisy,” White told reporters right after the shooting. “Tables getting flipped over, guys running in with guns and they were screaming ‘Get down!’

“I didn’t get down – it was f——- awesome. I literally took every minute of it in. It was a pretty crazy, unique experience.”

While head honcho Dana White may have enjoyed the chaos that night, federal authorities are taking this alleged plot quite seriously. With Alexander Iniguez Mercado becoming the latest suspect to face charges, investigators are still piecing together the full scale of the conspiracy, and more arrests could be on the way as the investigation into one of the most alarming threats ever tied to a UFC event continues.