Chicago man charged with obstruction of justice in connection to White House UFC attack plot

The short version

• Alexander Iniguez Mercado was indicted Thursday in federal court for allegedly serving as an administrator and member of Signal messaging groups used to plan a violent attack on…
• He is one of eight suspects from across multiple states who have been charged in connection with the conspiracy.
• According to the indictment, the FBI contacted Mercado by phone just one day before the White House event to discuss online threats.
• When a special agent asked if Mercado was planning to travel to Washington, D.C., to participate in the attack…
• Immediately after the call, Mercado allegedly uninstalled the Signal app from his phone, rendering the critical message data unavailable to investigators.