A Florida neo-Nazi and his terminally ill girlfriend were planning an imminent attack on Baltimore’s electrical grid, according to authorities. Now, the two are in jail.
Brandon Clint Russel and Sarah Beth Clendaniel are charged with conspiracy to damage energy facilities. Federal authorities said the two were actively planning an attack on five different electrical facilities around Baltimore. Court filings said the two wanted to “completely destroy the entire city.”
Both Russell and Clendaniel are convicted felons. Russel is a known neo-Nazi and the self-proclaimed leader of a racist extremist group in Florida. In 2017, one of Russell’s roommates killed two other roommates. Court documents said during the ensuing investigation Russell was found to be in possession of numerous explosive materials and admitted to subscribing to Nazi beliefs.
The FBI said Russel and Clendaniel had both an online and personal relationship. The FBI said it tracked online communication between the two while they were incarcerated in separate facilities in 2018. Clendaniel is said to suffer from a kidney-related illness. The FBI said Clendaniel wanted to “lay the city to waste.”
At a press conference Monday in Maryland, FBI Special Agent Tom Sobocinski said, “Their actions threatened the electricity and heat of our homes, hospitals and businesses.”
The Department of Justice said Russell told a confidential informant “putting holes in transformers is the greatest thing somebody can do.” Court documents said in a manifesto-like document, Clendaniel said she was “willing to sacrifice everything for my people to just have a chance for our cause to succeed.”
According to the FBI, violent domestic extremists are actively plotting attacks on the U.S. electrical grid. The FBI said the hate groups are motivated by a desire to spark an all-out race war and the eventual downfall of society. There were several highly publicized attacks on electrical facilities in several Southern and Pacific Northwest states last year.
