Woman Pleads Guilty In Neo-Nazi Plot To Attack Baltimore Power Grids

A Maryland woman has pleaded guilty for her role in a neo-Nazi plot to attack power grids in Baltimore.

Sarah Beth Clendaniel, 36, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to conspiracy and felony possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

Clendaniel conspired with Brandon Russell, founder of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen , to target electricity substations around the Baltimore area in the hopes of creating chaos and starting a race war.

Maryland woman Sarah Clendaniel has pleaded guilty to plotting with neo-Nazi group Attomowaffen to destroy power grids in the Baltimore area.

“Clendaniel and Russell espouse a white supremacist ideology and advocate a concept known as ‘accelerationism,’” the Justice Department said in a statement. “Accelerationism” is an idea among white supremacists that acts of violence are necessary to hasten the collapse of society so it may be rebuilt in a fascist, whites-only state.

Clendaniel and Russell first met in 2018 while both serving separate prison sentences. Starting in 2022, Russell discussed using Mylar balloons to short out a power transformer and said an attack should be carried out “when there is greatest strain on the grid” and “when everyone is using electricity to either heat or cool their homes,” according to the Justice Department.

Clendaniel discussed her desire to use a rifle in the attack, and in conversations obtained by the Justice Department, said if they hit multiple electrical substations in one day, they “would completely destroy this whole city,” and that a “good four or five shots through the center of them ... should make that happen.”

Clendaniel added that the attacks would “probably permanently completely lay this city to waste if we could do that successfully,” the Justice Department said.

And in a 2023 encrypted chat obtained by the FBI, Clendaniel said that “If we can pull off what I’m hoping... this would be legendary. This is MAJOR tier, and definitely doable,” according to her charging documents.

“Ms. Clendaniel, a felon, spent months plotting, planning and taking steps to inflict grave damage to Maryland’s power grid in furtherance of her white supremacist ideology,” FBI Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno said in a statement. “Today’s guilty plea highlights the commitment of the FBI to hold individuals accountable for their actions. The FBI will continue to investigate violent threats as the safety and security of all Marylanders remains a priority.”

Clendaniel faces 20 years in prison on the conspiracy charge and 15 years on the felon in possession charge. Her sentencing date is Sept. 3.