Neo-Nazi Leader Convicted of Plotting Baltimore Power Grid Attack
Brandon Russell, founder of a white supremacist group, was found guilty of conspiring to damage energy facilities in a racially-motivated plan to disrupt the majority-Black city.
- Brandon Russell, 29, was convicted of conspiracy to damage an energy facility after a six-day trial in Baltimore federal court.
- Russell, co-founder of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, planned the attack to incite chaos and further his extremist beliefs.
- He recruited Sarah Beth Clendaniel, who identified five electrical substations in Baltimore as targets and aimed to cause a catastrophic power failure.
- The plot, which was thwarted by the FBI, could have caused $75 million in damages and significant disruption to the Baltimore region.
- Clendaniel, who pleaded guilty in 2024, is serving an 18-year sentence; Russell faces up to 20 years in prison with sentencing yet to be scheduled.
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