Overview

• Brandon Clint Russell entered federal prison to serve a 20-year sentence and lifetime supervised release for conspiring to damage Baltimore-area electrical substations.
• Defense counsel signaled an immediate appeal focusing on alleged unlawful warrantless surveillance that produced key evidence.
• FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force disrupted the scheme in February 2023 through coordinated efforts of Baltimore and Tampa field offices.
• Prosecutors demonstrated that Russell and Sarah Beth Clendaniel plotted sniper attacks on five substations to trigger cascading grid failures and inflict over $75 million in damage.
• Clendaniel remains incarcerated under an 18-year sentence plus lifetime supervised release after pleading guilty to her role in the conspiracy.