An alleged ‘terrorist’ tried to blow up an electricity substation using explosives attached to a drone, say officials.
The Department of Justice announced on Monday that federal agents have apprehended a Columbia, Tennessee man with connections to white nationalist groups for allegedly attempting to use what he believed was an explosive-laden drone to blow up a Nashville energy facility.
Court documents state that 24-year-old Skyler Philippi is charged with plotting to attach pounds of C-4 explosives to a drone to take down an electric substation in Nashville. Unsealed court records show that in July, Philippi reportedly disclosed to a confidential informant working with the FBI his desire to target multiple substations to “shock the system”.
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This informant subsequently connected Philippi to an undercover FBI agent, who, along with others, gathered details about Philippi’s alleged scheme. FBI Special Agent Angelo DeFeo detailed in the court documents that “Philippi researched previous attacks on electric substations and concluded that attacking with firearms would not be sufficient,” leading him to plan the use of a drone carrying explosives to strike the substation.
Philippi is said to have admitted to undercover officers his affiliation with various white nationalist and extremist organizations, including the National Alliance, which advocates for the elimination of Jewish people and other ethnic groups. These radical factions are increasingly considering assaults on the U.S. power grid as a way to cause nationwide disruption.
The U. S. electrical grid, a vast network encompassing over 6,400 power plants and more than 450,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines, was a potential target for an attack allegedly planned by Philippi, who had shared sections of his so-called manifesto with undercover officials, emphasizing the preservation of the white race.
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On Saturday, alongside these undercover agents, Philippi headed to what he believed would be the launch site in Nashville, ready to deploy a drone assuming it carried 3 pounds of C-4 explosives a ruse orchestrated by law enforcement authorities as detailed in court filings.
Law enforcement promptly arrested Philippi upon arrival at the site. “As charged, Skyler Philippi believed he was moments away from launching an attack on a Nashville energy facility to further his violent white supremacist ideology but the FBI had already compromised his plot,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a press release.
Legal representation for Philippi will be provided by a federal public defender, with a response being sought from the attorney following an inquiry on Monday. Philippi’s next court appearance is slated for Nov. 13.