Maryland woman Sarah Beth Clendaniel, a member of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen, pleads guilty to plotting the destruction of the Baltimore energy grid.
Today, 36-year-old Sarah Beth Clendaniel of Catonsville, Maryland, entered a guilty plea to a charge of plotting to destroy or damage electrical facilities in Maryland.
The founder of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen, Brandon Russell, and Sarah Clendaniel of Maryland were both taken into custody last year.
They planned to blow up power substations, according to the prosecution, to cause mayhem and spark a racial conflict.
On Tuesday, Clendaniel entered a guilty plea in federal court.
After their release from prison, the two started talking about the idea. They had first corresponded while serving their sentences.
Clendaniel colluded with Russell and others starting at least in December 2022 and going on until February 2023 to harm energy infrastructure that is involved in the distribution and transmission of electricity, as well as to seriously disrupt and impair the Baltimore regional power system. Clendaniel acknowledged using encrypted communication applications (ECA) to plan and coordinate attacks on energy facilities as part of her guilty plea. Russell and Clendaniel told a human source who requested anonymity about their intentions to assault the electricity grid in the Baltimore Region (CHS-1).
The culmination of their planning took place on January 12, 2023, when CHS-1 and Russell talked about their intended attack on a Maryland substation, to collaborate with Clendaniel to “maximize impact” and “coordinate to get multiple [substations] at the same time.” Later on that day, Clendaniel confirmed her support for the attack in a message sent to CHS-1 on ECA under the alias “Nythra88.”
The 36-year-old Clendaniel called their plan “legendary” and claimed that the assault “would completely destroy the whole city”.
They were apprehended as a result of their discussions about their preparations with an FBI informant, though.
Atomwaffen Division, which Russell, 28, created, has been connected to multiple killings, explosions, and conspiracy theories in the US and other nations.
Despite being relatively tiny, according to experts, the gang has gained a reputation for extreme violence. Members follow a neo-Nazi interpretation of the “accelerationist” school of thought, which holds that social breakdown is a viable means of achieving political objectives.
Chaos, according to neo-Nazi accelerationists, will inevitably spark racial conflict and the emergence of a fascist state dominated by white people. Investigators claim to have discovered a document that belonged to Clendaniel and mentioned mass killers and Adolf Hitler. It was ostensibly intended to be made public in the case of an attack.
Australia, Canada, and the UK have all outlawed atomwaffen and its derivatives.
Russell received a prison sentence in 2018 following his conviction on charges related to explosives. While conducting an internal investigation into the deaths of two Atomwaffen members, police discovered weapons and bomb-making supplies.
In 2021, he was set free. Clendaniel was incarcerated for armed robbery in the same period.
Clendaniel entered a guilty plea in federal court on Tuesday to charges of conspiracy to harm an energy facility, which carries a possible sentence of 20 years, and illegal firearm possession, which carries a maximum 15-year term.
Prosecutors stated in a plea deal they would suggest she serve a maximum of eighteen years, subject to a judge’s approval.
Given that Clendaniel entered a guilty plea, there’s a chance she could testify against Russell, who will face trial in July.
In a report by GreatGameIndia, it’s revealed that Neo-Nazism isn’t a recent phenomenon in the USA. According to documents dubbed the “Fed Files,” an FBI informant played a role in founding the National Socialist Movement, which stands as one of the largest Nazi groups in American history.
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