The founder and leader of a Florida-based neo-Nazi group, 29-year-old Brandon Russell, was found guilty of conspiracy to damage an energy facility. Back in 2022, Russell convinced his former girlfriend to carry out a planned attack on an electrical grid in Baltimore.
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According to CNN, Russell and Sarah Beth Clendaniel were ready to carry out the "sniper attacks" on the Baltimore electrical substations to create chaos in the city. Prosecutors argued this during the trial, saying that Rusell targeted Baltimore because its citizens are predominantly Black. According to Data USA, 60.7% of Baltimoreans are black or African American.
Court records obtained by CBS News detail that both Russell and Clendaniel attempted to obtain a "high-powered rifle" to shoot through several substations in Baltimore. Among these were the ones located at Reisterstown, Perry, Hall, and White Marsh. He would then make use of Telegram to contact a confident informant who would, reportedly, provide the weapon. Russell would also make use of encrypted applications to post infrastructure plans of the electrical substations.
Arrested And Convicted
However, both Russell and Clendaniel were arrested in February 2023 before their plans were executed. Clendaniel accepted a plea deal in September 2024 and was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison. A 12-person jury then deliberated for less than an hour following four days of testimonies in Russell's trial. He was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to damage an energy facility.
The United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, Erek L. Barron, then talked about Russell's conviction.
"Hate-fueled violence has no place in a civilized society. Brandon Russell went well beyond his First Amendment rights, orchestrating a terrorist plot that would have harmed thousands of innocent people," Barron said. "It won't always be popular, but this office will do the right thing, the right way, for the right reason."
After his conviction, Brandon Russell now faces 20 years in prison. His sentencing will take place at a later date.
Troubled History
Brandon Russell founded Atomwaffen Division, a white supremacist neo-Nazi organization years ago. Back in 2018, he was sentenced to five years in prison after he was arrested in 2017 while police were investigating a double homicide. While he didn't commit the murders, police found that he had stored explosives at his home, which he shared with the murder suspect.
The then-suspect, Devon Arthurs, pleaded guilty to killing his and Russell's roommates. According to CBS News, he shot them after they teased him for his conversion to Islam. Furthermore, Arthurs said that he killed both of them in an attempt to prevent a terrorist attack by Atomwaffen. This could explain Russell's storage of the explosives. Russell eventually pleaded guilty to possession of an unregistered destructive device and improper storage of explosive materials.
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