Inspired by neo-Nazi ideology, two Americans were arrested over their alleged plot to attack Baltimore’s power grid.
By United with Israel Staff
On Monday, Maryland officials announced the arrest of a 34-year-old woman named Sarah Beth Clendaniel who authorities say was planning an attack on the power grid in Baltimore.
The city is home to both a sizeable Orthodox Jewish community and a large Black community, and Clendaniel and her accomplice, Brandon Russell, were allegedly inspired by neo-Nazi ideology.
A criminal complaint unsealed on Monday accuses Clendaniel and Russel of planning to launch “sniper attacks” on electrical substations. As supporting evidence, the complaint included a photo of an armed Clendaniel wearing swastika-adorned tactical gear.
According to the complaint, Russell expressed a desire to hit the grid during winter, “when most people are using max electricity.”
“It would probably permanently completely lay this city to waste if we could do that successfully,” Clendaniel explained to a government informant to whom Russell introduced her. Among Clendaniel’s Google-stored content was a manifesto-like document mentioning Hitler and terrorism.
U.S. Attorney Erek Barron read a statement calling for unity in the wake of the exposed plot.
“When we are united, hate cannot win,” Barron commented at a press conference.
Russell was linked to the Atomwaffen Division neo-Nazi hate group, which was recently renamed the National Socialist Order. Two of Russell’s roommates were shot to death in 2017 by a third roommate who claimed he killed the men to stop an Atomwaffen attack, the Associated Press reported.
At the time, law enforcement found bomb-making materials on the premises, which landed Russell in prison for five years.