Brandon Russell, a white supremacist leader from Orlando, Florida, has been convicted on charges of conspiracy to damage an energy facility, a verdict handed down after a six-day federal trial. The United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, Erek L. Barron, along with FBI Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Baltimore Field Office, announced the jury's decision, emphasizing the government's stance against hate-driven violence and the importance of protecting communities from such threats.
The evidence presented in court showed that from November 2022 to February 3, 2023, Russell engaged in a plot to attack critical energy infrastructure with the intent to cause a “cascading failure” in the Baltimore regional power grid, potentially leading to widespread disruption and damage exceeding $75 million, Barron and DelBagno underlined the government's unwavering commitment to confront and dismantle plots that endanger public safety and national security, even when the motives behind those plots are rooted in extremist ideologies and Russell's own racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist beliefs fueled his conspiracy.
Russell, describing himself as a National Socialist, recruited Sarah Beth Clendaniel, a Maryland woman, to assist with the planned attacks. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Russell sought to maximize the destruction by coordinating multiple attacks on substations simultaneously; Clendaniel identified specific targets, and Russell attempted to procure a weapon for her to carry out the planned acts of terrorism.
The gravity of Russell's intent was captured in Clendaniel's admission that a successful attack would "completely destroy this whole city," a quote from the trial evidence detailed by the U.S. Department of Justice. Russell now faces up to 20 years in prison for his crimes, with his sentence to be determined by Senior United States District Judge James K. Bredar, who will consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Clendaniel herself has already been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison, plus a lifetime of supervised release, for her role in the conspiracy.
