Neo-Nazi leader and Maryland woman charged with conspiracy to destroy Baltimore’s power grid

Federal prosecutors have charged a neo-Nazi leader and a Maryland woman with conspiracy to attack power plants near Baltimore.



ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Now some news from the Justice Department – two people, including a neo-Nazi leader, are being charged on federal charges for allegedly plotting to attack substations around the city of Baltimore.

NPR Justice Correspondent Ryan Lucas talks about it. And Ryan, tell us who the defendants are and what they’re charged with.

RYAN LUCAS, SUBSCRIPTION: The defendants are Brandon Russell and Sarah Clendaniel. Both have a criminal past. Clendaniel did time for armed robbery of a store. She seems to share the views of white supremacists. Court documents include a photo of her holding what appears to be an assault rifle and wearing tactical gear with a swastika. Russell, for his part, had previously served time for possession of materials to make bombs.

But he’s a really important figure here, and that’s because he’s the founder of this neo-Nazi group called the Atomwaffen Division. This is a group that the government and researchers call aggressive. They say it’s dangerous. The group is said to have cells in several states. And its members target racial minorities, the LGBTQ community and others, as well as critical infrastructure.

SHAPIRO: And tell us about the alleged conspiracy here.

LUCAS: Right. So, Russell and Clendaniel are accused of conspiring to destroy an energy facility. And according to the court documents, the plan here was to use a weapon to attack five electrical substations in the Baltimore area in one day, and the idea was that hitting all of those substations in quick succession would have a sort of cascading effect, which will damage the city. Energy system. Now, according to court documents, Clendaniel has told a confidential person – i.e. a government informant – that if they manage to hit all five substations, it will, quote, “probably destroy this city forever.” the city here, of course, is Baltimore.

Now, a confidential informant appears to have played a major role in this investigation. Russell and Clendaniel gave the source details of their plans, including which weapons to use, and even shared links to Google Maps pointing to potential targets.

SHAPIRO: There have been recent attacks on power plants in several states. Is this supposed conspiracy connected to these incidents?

LUCAS: Well, that’s a good question. But at the moment we don’t have an answer. And that’s because some of those earlier cases weren’t solved. One of the cases you’re talking about was the attacks on electrical substations in North Carolina in December. They were hit by artillery fire. Thousands of homes and businesses in the state were left without electricity. Authorities said the attacks were deliberate. However, no arrests were made. So we don’t know who is to blame. And, of course, we don’t know what their motives were either.

However, more broadly, we know that white supremacists have spoken in the past and recently about targeting critical infrastructure such as energy facilities such as electrical substations. And research shows that this trend is increasing. The George Washington University Program on Extremism released a report. And it turned out that between 2016 and 2022, 13 people associated with the white supremacist movement were charged in federal court with planning attacks on the power grid.

SHAPIRO: Why did the neo-Nazis focus on the power grid?

LUCAS: There is also a practical side. Electrical substations, for example, are often easier to hit than, say, a well-defended government facility, a sort of fortified facility. But the researchers say attacks on critical infrastructure are also meant to help hasten what white supremacists want — the collapse of government and society at large.

The authorities are aware of this threat. And the Department of Homeland Security recently issued a warning that critical infrastructure could be attacked. But the most difficult thing, of course, is to prevent attacks. Now, in this case, in this investigation today, officials say that’s exactly what they’ve been able to do.

SHAPIRO: This is NPR Justice Correspondent Ryan Lucas. Thank you.

LUCAS: Thank you.

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