'Racially Motivated Extremists' Accused Of Planning Attack On Baltimore Power Grid: DOJ

BALTIMORE, MD — Two people described as racially motivated extremists have been arrested after being accused of planning an attack on Baltimore's power grid, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced in a news release Monday.

The accused were identified as Brandon Russell, 27, and Sarah Clendaniel, 34, who "conspired to inflict maximum harm" on the power grid and intended to "completely destroy" Baltimore, U.S. Attorney Erek Barron and a top FBI official said at a news conference Monday morning.

Russell is a formal Florida National Guard member and the founder of the violent neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen, which targets racial minorities, the Jewish community, the LGBTQ community, journalists, the United States government, and critical infrastructure, according to criminal complaint court documents relating to the Conspiracy to Destroy an Energy Facility charge.

Clendaniel is expected to make her first appearance Monday in Baltimore federal court on a charge of conspiring to destroy an energy facility, the news release said. Russell will have an initial appearance in Orlando. The charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

"Their actions threatened the electricity and heat of our homes, hospitals, and businesses," FBI Special Agent Thomas Sobocinski said at the news conference.

Going by online monikers Homunculus and Kali/Nythra88, respectively, Russell and Clendaniel discussed in depth their plans to "completely lay [Baltimore] to waste," according to the criminal complaint.

Court documents show that speaking to a federal informant on Jan. 29, Clendaniel said “If we can pull off what I’m hoping … this would be legendary."

Clendaniel described how there was a ‘ring’ around Baltimore and if they hit a number of them all in the same day, they ‘would completely destroy this whole city,' according to court documents.

According to a statement released by Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, the FBI determined that the suspects planned to target several BGE electric substations with gunfire.

"Law enforcement acted before the perpetrators were able to carry out their plan, and there was no damage to any of the substations, nor was any service disrupted," the statement read.

"The substations are not believed to have been targeted out of any connection to BGE or Exelon, or because of any particular vulnerability," BGE added.

Acknowledging that threats have increased in recent years, BGE wrote that the agency has upped investments in grid-hardening capital projects and monitoring and surveillance technologies to work to prevent both physical and cyber-attacks.