DOJ uses alleged UFC plot to argue for Trump ballroom

Skip to content

A foiled plot to attack an outdoor UFC event at the White House over the weekend is further proof why President Trump’s proposed ballroom is needed for security reasons, a senior Department of Justice (DOJ) official told a federal appeals court Tuesday.

Brett Shumate, the assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Division, argued in a letter to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals the alleged plot “demonstrates a compelling need” for the sprawling facility on the site of the former East Wing.

“The Ballroom’s mass and height will shield the White House grounds from attack, and give the Secret Service the visibility needed to identify attackers,” he wrote.

Federal authorities, along with law enforcement partners in multiple states, thwarted a planned attack on the UFC Freedom 250 event that was held on the White House grounds Sunday, FBI Director Kash Patel announced on social media earlier Tuesday.

Five people were arrested and charged in recent days across Ohio, Missouri, Nebraska, and California for their participation in the alleged assassination plot, which officials said targeted Republican lawmakers and others attending the event.

The suspects allegedly planned to “deploy drones armed with explosives in and around” the event to force an evacuation and then planned to “deploy snipers to fire upon ‘high value targets’ within the fleeing crowd,” according to the DOJ.

Shumate wrote that the planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom facility was designed to defend against “just such attacks” and would be outfitted with a “highly sophisticated Drone Port and Sniper Nests,” a steel drone-proof roof, missile resistant columns, bullet- and ballistic-proof windows and other “critical strategic features.”

“The Ballroom’s mass and height will shield the White House grounds from attack, and give the Secret Service the visibility needed to identify attackers,” he asserted.

“It will protect the President and guests at major events that are currently held in ‘plastic tents that cannot even protect highly esteemed guests from inclement weather, let alone high caliber bullets or kamikaze drones,’ —exactly the attack that this Sunday’s would-be assassins plotted to launch,” Shumate added, alluding to the outdoor tents typically used for large state events.

It is the same justification the Trump administration has offered repeatedly in court filings as it fights a lawsuit brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which argues the multimillion-dollar project is unconstitutional.

A federal judge halted construction in late March, finding that the administration lacked authority to proceed without congressional approval.

After a gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner this spring, the DOJ argued in a filing that the judge’s order “cannot defensibly continue, for the sake of the safety of President Trump, future Presidents, and their families, Cabinets, and staff.”

The federal appeals panel agreed in April to allow construction to carry on temporarily while it weighs whether the project can formally proceed.

A three-judge panel, one appointed by each of the three most recent presidents, heard oral arguments in the appeal earlier this month and has yet to issue a decision.

Tags

Donald Trump

Kash Patel

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.