Man arrested in alleged neo-Nazi-inspired plot to destroy Nashville energy facility: DOJ
A 24-year-old Tennessee man has been arrested and charged with allegedly plotting to use a weapon of mass destruction in a neo-Nazi-inspired plot to destroy an energy facility near Nashville, the Justice Department announced Monday.
Skyler Philippi allegedly planned to attack Nashville's power grid with a drone armed with explosives after conducting extensive research into how such an attack could serve to "shock the system," as he reportedly relayed to one FBI confidential source who became aware of his plotting, prosecutors said.
The FBI first began investigating Philippi in June after a confidential source who was in touch with him reported to the FBI his alleged desire to commit a mass shooting at a YMCA near Columbia, Tennessee, according to the complaint.
Philippi allegedly repeatedly espoused his adherence to white supremacist and accelerationist ideologies which promote the idea that a destabilizing terrorist attack on something like the nation's energy sectors could serve to incite unrest that leads to civil war, according to prosecutors.
"I definitely want to hit Nashville, like one hundred percent, I want to get Nashville," Philippi allegedly said in one meeting recorded by the undercover agents, according to the complaint. "I also know Louisville pretty God damn well, since I lived there. I spent about five months scouting out every single place [power station] and even coming up with a game plan to hit it as fast as I could. I had whole maps made, printed out on paper, to actually do that."
In September, Philippi and undercover FBI employees drove to an electrical substation he had researched previously and, while in transit, Philippi allegedly ordered what he believed would be the equivalent of C-4 explosives from the informants, according to the complaint.
During the recon mission, the undercover agents recorded Philippi stating, "Holy s---. This will go up like a f-----' Fourth of July firework," according to the complaint.
On Saturday, Philippi allegedly met up with the undercover agents to test fly the drone and conduct the attack, according to the complaint. The complaint includes a photograph that prosecutors said shows Philippi conducting the test flight of the drone.
The agents supplied Philippi with pipe bombs allegedly ordered by the defendant that contained an inert substance so they would not detonate, according to the complaint. Another photo included in the complaint shows a masked person prosecutors said is Philippi, along with two FBI undercover agents, showing off the pipe bombs and an explosive device.
Before going to the site of the operation, Philippi participated in a "Nordic ritual," during which he allegedly said "This is where the New Age begins" and that it was "time to do something big" that would be remembered "in the annals of history," according to the complaint.
Once at the site of the operation, as the undercover agents moved to their assigned positions as lookouts, Philippi allegedly powered up the drone with an explosive device that he believed had an active C-4 attached to it, according to the complaint. He was then taken into custody, prosecutors said.
"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 Garland said in a statement. "This case serves as yet another warning to those seeking to sow violence and chaos in the name of hatred by attacking our country's critical infrastructure: the Justice Department will find you, we will disrupt your plot, and we will hold you accountable."
Philippi is charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted destruction of an energy facility. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, the DOJ said.
He had an initial court appearance on Monday and has been temporarily detained, court records show. A preliminary and detention hearing has been continued to Nov. 13.
ABC News has reached out to Philippi's attorney for comment.
