Additional Coverage:
A 24-year-old man from Tennessee has been arrested for plotting to attack Nashville’s power grid with a drone armed with explosives.
Skyler Philippi allegedly conducted research on how such an attack could cause widespread unrest and lead to civil war. He espoused white supremacist and accelerationist ideologies.
In September, Philippi and FBI informants visited an electrical substation, where he allegedly ordered what he believed to be C-4 explosives. During a recon mission, he stated that the attack would “go up like a f—–‘ Fourth of July firework.”
On Saturday, Philippi met with undercover agents to test fly the drone and carry out the attack. The agents provided him with inert pipe bombs.
Before the operation, Philippi participated in a “Nordic ritual,” claiming it was the start of a new age and that he was about to do something that would be remembered in history.
As the agents moved to their positions as lookouts, Philippi powered up the drone with an explosive device that he believed to be active. He was then taken into custody.
Philippi is charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted destruction of an energy facility. He faces a potential life sentence if convicted.