Free Republic

The FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office officials in Baltimore announced they had arrested two individuals, a man and a woman, with extremist views who were allegedly attempting to attack the power grid in Maryland. FBI officials told reporters they believe this was a "real threat" that had been thwarted. Sarah Beth Clendaniel, 34, of Catonsville, Maryland, and Brandon Clint Russell, 27, of Orlando, Florida, are charged through a federal criminal complaint with conspiracy to destroy an energy facility, Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, and Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski, of the FBI Baltimore...

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...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A former leader of the white supremacist group Atomwaffen Division pleaded guilty today to charges related to his role in a conspiracy that conducted multiple swatting events targeting journalists, a Virginia university, a historic Virginia church, and a former cabinet official.According to court documents, John Cameron Denton, 26, of Montgomery, Texas, is a former leader of the Atomwaffen Division in Texas. From October 2018 to at least April 2019, Denton and several others conspired together to conduct “swatting” calls. Swatting is a harassment tactic that involves deceiving dispatchers into believing that a person or persons are...

Washington (AFP) – US authorities announced the arrests Monday of the co-founder of the notorious Atomwaffen neo-Nazi group and a woman he met online in the latest extremist plot to attack public electricity facilities.The FBI said Brandon Russell, who helped found Atomwaffen in 2015, was arrested in Florida, after spending four years in prison for possessing bomb-making materials.The woman, Sarah Beth Clendaniel, was arrested in Maryland where she had also spent time in prison for armed robbery.Guided by Russell, Clendaniel had planned to acquire a gun and to attack five electrical substations around Baltimore, Maryland, the FBI said.SNIPIn February 2022,...