What is accelerationism? Ideology linked to suspects in alleged UFC Freedom 250 plot explained
WASHINGTON, DC: In a sweeping, multi-state operation, federal authorities thwarted an alleged plot targeting Donald Trump's much-publicized UFC fight night at the White House.
A team including the Secret Service and FBI uncovered the plot as they screened messages discussing the plot between multiple individuals, leading to the arrest of five suspects across Ohio, California, Nebraska, and Missouri.
Court documents allege that the online plot involved using drones with explosives to hit buildings near the UFC Freedom 250 fight and have snipers target "certain high-value targets."
Investigators also revealed that at least 12 suspects involved in the plot across four states adhered to an extremist ideology known as accelerationism.
What is accelerationism?
The Anti-Defamation League describes accelerationism as a movement that encourages violent acts and disruption to accelerate societal breakdown, which adherents believe will make space for a new start.
Accelerationists often embrace elements of the white replacement theory, a conspiracy narrative that falsely argues that nonwhite communities are intentionally displacing white people through immigration and demographic change.
Scholars who study extremism have used the term “accelerationism” since the 1980s, but it wasn’t widely associated with right-wing extremist violence until the late 2010s.
“Accelerationism has existed for decades,” former Secret Service agent Paul Eckloff told 'CUOMO' on Tuesday after the arrest of the suspects.
“It’s people that believe society is irredeemable, whether it’s capitalism, whether it’s other things, and they believe if they accelerate the end of it, it can be reborn, it can be rebuilt in the image that they want.”
He said indications are the alleged plotters looked to rebuild in a “white supremacist’s view.” “What worries me is not really the specific grievance; it’s how quickly we went from rhetoric to real-world action,” Eckloff said. “In this case, it wasn’t years, it was a few weeks.”
Brenton Harrison Tarrant, the Australian white supremacist behind the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks in New Zealand, devoted an entire section of his online manifesto to the concept, titling it "Destabilization and Accelerationism: Tactics for Victory."
In a separate case, Skyler Philippi, a Nashville man described by authorities as being “dedicated to white supremacist” ideology, was arrested and charged over an alleged plot to use an explosives-laden drone to attack a Nashville energy facility “in furtherance of his accelerationist ideology.”
The ideology often is a popular topic in private chat rooms frequented by white supremacist, neo-Nazi groups, including The Base, which is a survivalism and self-defense network, the Anti-Defamation League’s leader told CNN in 2020.
A worried mother helped officials uncover the plot
The plot targeting the extravagant event at the White House was apparently foiled by a worried mother who noticed her son's growing obsession with guns, tactical gear, and secretive online communications.
Court documents revealed that Tycen Proper, a 19-year-old Ohio man charged among the 5 suspects in connection with the alleged plot, was first arrested after his mother became alarmed by his recent behavior and contacted authorities.
The criminal complaint reveals that Proper's mother contacted authorities on June 10, after becoming concerned about her son's recent firearms purchases and communications with people he had met online.
According to the complaint, Proper's mother told investigators she had discovered her son researching locations in Washington, DC, near the White House.
She also said he had mentioned the group was scouting multiple sites for “recon” and “hit and run missions.”
