A Chicago man has been charged with obstructing an FBI investigation into an alleged plot to attack the recent Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the White House with drones and high-powered weapons.

Alexander Iniguez Mercado, 20, was charged in an indictment made public Friday with one count of obstruction of justice, which carries up to 20 years in prison. He was arrested on Thursday and is expected to have an initial appearance at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse at 3 p.m., according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

The three-page indictment alleged Mercado was an administrator of messaging groups on the encrypted app Signal that included members who were apparently communicating about the violent attack planned for June 14, when President Donald Trump hosted a high-profile UFC event outside the White House.

Seven other individuals from multiple states have been charged in connection with the planning of the violent attack.

The day before the event, an FBI special agent spoke with Mercado by telephone about the investigation and asked whether Mercado planned to travel to Washington to help with the attack, the indictment alleged.

“(Mercado) denied those plans, advised the agent that he did not want to meet with the agent, and, after a brief conversation, the call was disconnected,” the indictment stated.

The next day, Mercado uninstalled the Signal application on his phone, which made the data related to those messages unavailable, the indictment stated.

So far, seven other defendants have been charged in the alleged plot, which federal law enforcement has said involved attacking the crown on the South Lawn with explosive-laden drones, followed by an ambush by snipers.

Mercado was the first Chicago-area person to be arrested in the investigation.

The court docket in Mercado’s case remained sealed on Friday afternoon, and it was unclear whether he had an attorney.

Court records show Mercado was arrested in the Back of the Yards neighborhood in October on charges of domestic battery involving a relative, but prosecutors dropped the case at his next court hearing. He was also ticketed for a traffic violation in March, court records show.

In a statement Friday, U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros said that allegedly obstructing an investigation into a plot that threatened not only the president but also thousands of spectators and athletes is a “profoundly serious offense.”

Chicago FBI Special Agent in Charge Douglas DePodesta said federal law enforcement is working around the clock to evaluate an “ever-changing threat landscape.”

“Thanks to the partnerships on the FBI Chicago’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, to include the relentless work by the U.S. Secret Service, this attack was successfully foiled before any innocent people were gravely injured or killed,” DePodesta said in a written statement.

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