Catonsville woman, Florida man arraigned in plot to attack Baltimore power grid

Baltimore Sun ^ | 3/10/2023 | Lia Russell

[simpson96]

The FBI arrested Sarah Beth Clendaniel of Catonsville and Brandon Russell of Orlando, Florida, last month. Federal prosecutors allege that the pair were planning to destroy five energy facilities in Norrisville, Reisterstown, Perry Hall and other parts of the Baltimore area.

Clendaniel, 34, and Russell, 27, plotted to shoot up and damage the substations because they thought the attacks would “completely destroy this whole city [of Baltimore]” and cause a “cascading failure costing billions of dollars,” according to an FBI affidavit.

The two were indicted Feb. 14 of a single count of conspiring to destroy an energy facility, after being taken into custody Feb. 3.

Clendaniel and Russell appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Beth Gesner Friday morning at the federal courthouse in downtown Baltimore in separate arraignment hearings.

Clendaniel, wearing a yellow prison-issued jumpsuit, waved and blew a kiss to family members who attended the hearing, while Russell appeared wearing a red jumpsuit for his first appearance in Maryland.

Clendaniel pleaded not guilty via her attorney, public defender Kirstin Hopkins.

Russell also pleaded not guilty via his attorneys, Kobie Flowers and visiting counsel Ian Goldstein of West Palm Beach, Florida.

Both Clendaniel and Russell face maximum sentences of 20 years each if convicted, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release thereafter.

According to the affidavit, Clendaniel told a FBI source that she had a terminal kidney disease, was “unlikely to live more than a few months” and “wanted to accomplish something worthwhile” before her death.

Two months before her arrest, Clendaniel posted tweets to her still-active Twitter account, referencing previously attempted substation attacks. She also praised Adolf Hitler, the Taliban and Ted Kaczynski.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

Catonsville woman. Figures.