Neo-Nazi leader sentenced for plotting attack on Maryland power grid

By Christian Olaniran

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    BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — Brandon Clint Russell, leader of a neo-Nazi group, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for plotting to attack Maryland’s power grid in what prosecutors called a terrorist plan, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland said Thursday.

Russell’s sentence will be followed by a lifetime of supervised release.

Russell, 29, of Orlando, Florida, was found guilty on Feb. 4 of one count of conspiracy to damage an energy facility. Prosecutors said he and co-conspirator Sara Beth Clendaniel planned to blow up several Baltimore Gas and Electric substations in the Baltimore area in 2023.

Russell, a co-founder of Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi organization, has admitted to holding National Socialist and white supremacist beliefs. He also subscribes to accelerationism, an ideology that claims society is beyond repair and advocates violence to bring about radical social change, prosecutors said.

Authorities said Russell recruited Clendaniel to help carry out the attacks, which were planned to take place over three months, from December 2022 to February 2023.

Clendaniel was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

According to court documents, on Oct. 25, 2022, Russell encouraged an attack “when there is greatest strain on the grid,” such as “when everyone is using electricity to either heat or cool their homes.” He used encrypted messaging apps to post links to maps showing the locations of electrical substations, records state.

In those conversations, Russell described how a small number of targeted strikes could cause a “cascading failure” and discussed increasing the impact by hitting multiple stations at once.

Prosecutors said the planned attacks could have caused $75 million in damages and left much of the state without power.

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