(DCWatchdog.com) – In a bizarre criminal incident, the FBI has thwarted a devastating plot to attack Nashville’s power grid by arresting a man named Skyler Philippi.
See a photo the suspect took of himself in a mask while organizing the attack in the tweet below!
He planned to use a drone packed with explosives to strike, driven by a white supremacist ideology.
The charge against him is attempting to deploy a weapon of mass destruction.
Authorities arrested Skyler Philippi, 24, from Columbia, Tennessee, in a plot targeting a Nashville power substation with an explosive-laden drone.
Law enforcement caught him as he was preparing to attach the explosive to the drone near the power substation.
They acted swiftly, preventing what could have been catastrophic damage to critical infrastructure, The New York Times reports.
Skyler Philippi’s plan involved the ideology known as “accelerationism,” aiming for society’s collapse through violence.
He targeted key infrastructure, intending his attack to leave hospitals and thousands of Americans without power.
The FBI monitored Philippi since June after learning about his violent intentions.
His plans included attacks on high economic and political zones.
FBI Director Christopher Wray emphasized the racially motivated violent extremist ideology behind Philippi’s plan, and praised the FBI’s swift work in detection and disruption efforts.
“Driven by a racially motivated violent extremist ideology, the defendant planned to attack the power grid with a drone and explosives. The FBI’s swift work led to the detection and disruption of the defendant’s plot before he could cause any damage. We are committed to holding accountable anyone who threatens the security of our critical infrastructure or seeks to harm American communities through domestic violent extremism,” Wray declared, cited by Fox News.
Philippi, who faces charges including attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, potentially faces life imprisonment.
The collaboration with undercover FBI employees allowed for the monitoring of his activities, which included reconnaissance and the procurement of explosives like pipe bombs and C-4 compositions.
The choice to disrupt Nashville’s energy infrastructure aligned with his neo-Nazi activities which included conducting a Nordic ritual before the planned attack.
The FBI and the Justice Department have reiterated their vigilance and commitment to intercepting such plots.
As such, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland emphasized, “This case serves as yet another warning to those seeking to sow violence and chaos in the name of hatred by attacking our country’s critical infrastructure: the Justice Department will find you, we will disrupt your plot, and we will hold you accountable.”
“Skyler Philippi believed he was moments away from launching an attack on a Nashville energy facility to further his violent white supremacist ideology,” he added.
A 24-year-old Tennessee man was arrested moments before he planned to use a drone carrying an explosive to destroy a Nashville power substation to further his “violent white supremacist ideology,” federal prosecutors said Monday.https://t.co/h3j5Qfsmry
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 5, 2024
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