Man arrested after federal officials say he sought to destroy Nashville power site

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Department of Justice said Monday that national agents person arrested a Tennessee man pinch ties to achromatic nationalist groups who they opportunity attempted to usage what he believed to beryllium an explosive-laden drone to destruct a Nashville power facility.

According to tribunal documents, 24-year-old Skyler Philippi is accused of readying to connect respective pounds of C-4 explosives to an aerial drone pinch nan intent of destroying an electrical substation successful Nashville.

The recently unsealed tribunal records uncover that Philippi successful July allegedly told a confidential root who was moving pinch nan FBI that he wanted to onslaught respective substations to “shock nan system.” That confidential root later introduced Philippi to an undercover FBI employee, who began to cod accusation astir Philippi’s scheme pinch different undercover agents.

“Philippi researched erstwhile attacks connected electrical substations and concluded that attacking pinch firearms would not beryllium sufficient,” wrote Angelo DeFeo, an FBI typical agent, successful nan tribunal records released Monday. “Philippi, therefore, planned to usage a drone pinch explosives attached to it and to alert nan drone into nan substation.”

Philippi allegedly told undercover rule enforcement officials that he was affiliated pinch respective achromatic nationalist and extremist groups, including nan National Alliance, which calls for eradicating nan Jewish group and different races. Such extremist groups progressively person viewed attacking nan United States’ powerfulness grid arsenic a intends of disrupting nan country.

The U.S. grid includes much than 6,400 powerfulness plants and 450,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines that span nan country.

In September, Philippi provided nan undercover officials pinch excerpts of his alleged manifesto, which focused heavy connected preserving nan achromatic race.

On Saturday, Philippi and undercover labor drove to his intended Nashville motorboat tract and prepared to alert a drone that authorities opportunity Philippi believed had 3 pounds of C-4 attached to it. The worldly had been provided by nan undercover employees, according to tribunal documents.

Law enforcement agents arrested Philippi soon aft arriving astatine nan site.

“As charged, Skyler Philippi believed he was moments distant from launching an onslaught connected a Nashville power installation to further his convulsive achromatic supremacist ideology – but nan FBI had already compromised his plot,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said successful a statement.

A national nationalist defender was appointed to correspond Philippi and a petition for remark was sent to nan lawyer connected Monday. Philippi is expected to look successful tribunal connected Nov. 13.