The US Justice Department has charged Brandon Russell, the founder of a neo-Nazi group called the Atomwaffen Division, and Sarah Clendaniel, his associate, with plotting to attack Baltimore’s power grid.
According to the FBI, the plot was racially motivated, though they did not elaborate. The pair is accused of conspiring and taking steps to shoot multiple electrical substations in the Baltimore area, aiming to “destroy this whole city.” The FBI thwarted the plan with the help of a confidential informant. Â An FBI agent posing as a potential attacker, exchanged encrypted messages with the accused that revealed their plans.
Baltimore Gas and Electric, which owns the targeted substations, said there was no damage to any of its equipment or outages. The arrests followed recent attacks on electrical infrastructure in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Washington, with motives that were not known.
