A Maryland woman and the founder of a Florida neo-Nazi group have been arrested for plotting to attack Baltimore’s power grid. They intended to “completely destroy” the American city.
Sarah Beth Clendaniel, 34, and her accomplice Brandon Russell, 27, plotted sniper attacks on substations, which are part of the high-voltage grid, to bring down the predominantly black city. The couple has been arrested by authorities on suspicion of conspiracy.
The two met in prison and are said to have devised plans, which they themselves called “legendary”, last year. The FBI tracked this down through an informant.
According to the authorities, there is a “racist motive”, but that is not further explained. In Baltimore, more than 60 percent of the population is black. The power grid that the two had in mind provides power to about 1.2 million residents in Maryland.
Vulnerability of the power grid
According to the authorities, the attack that the two planned is not related to previous attacks on electricity facilities in North Carolina, Washington state and Oregon, the American newspaper writes. The New York Times. It does, however, expose the vulnerability of the power grid to such attacks.
The neo-Nazi group “Atomwaffen” that Russell founded also plotted attacks on Florida’s power grid and nuclear plants in 2017. He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2018, but was released in 2021.
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