Neo-Nazi Convicted in Racially-Motivated Plot to Destroy Baltimore Power Grid: 'Lay this City to Waste'

An avowed neo-Nazi has been convicted of plotting an attack on energy infrastructure with the goal of "lay[ing] waste to the city of Baltimore."

Brandon Russell, 29, was found guilty Monday of conspiracy to damage an energy facility in a "racially"-motivated attack after a six-day jury trial, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland announced on Feb. 3.

"Brandon Russell, a self-proclaimed National Socialist, conspired to 'lay waste to the city of Baltimore’ through violence and destruction of critical infrastructure," said William J. DelBagno, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Baltimore field office. "Today's verdict reinforces there is no tolerance for those who seek to harm our communities and use violence to further hate-filled beliefs."

Russell, the co-founder of Florida-based neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, had devised a series of attacks on transformers within electrical substations serving the majority-Black city of Baltimore, prosecutors contended at trial.

Russell recruited Maryland resident Sarah Beth Clendaniel as his accomplice on the ground; the pair intended to cause "significant interruption and impairment of the Baltimore regional power grid."

Prosecutors said Clendaniel identified five target substations and Russell attempted to procure a weapon for her. Per evidence presented in court, Clendaniel told Russell that they could "completely destroy this whole city" with "four or five shots through the center" of the transformers.

"It would probably permanently completely lay this city to waste if we could do that successfully," she added.

The plot unraveled after Russell introduced Clendaniel to a person he believed could supply her with a weapon — but that person was actually a confidential FBI informant, the Associated Press reports.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Clendaniel pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges as well as possessing a weapon as a convicted felon; she was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2024. Russell, meanwhile, could face up to 20 years behind bars.

That wouldn't be Russell's first stint in lockup, though. He previously served three years after authorities discovered a massive trove of explosive material in his home in 2017, following the murders of two of his roommates by another roommate in Florida.

Authorities also discovered neo-Nazi paraphernalia in his residence and a framed portrait of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Russell was released from custody in 2021.

Read the original article on People