Man arrested on suspicion of planning attack on Nashville power plant

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Justice Department said Monday that federal agents have arrested a Tennessee man with ties to white nationalist groups who they say tried to use an explosives-laden drone to destroy a power plant in Nashville. .

According to court documents, 24-year-old Skyler Philippi is accused of planning to attach several pounds of C-4 explosives to an aerial drone with the intention of destroying an electrical substation in Nashville.

The recently released court documents show that Philippi allegedly told a confidential source working with the FBI in July that he wanted to attack several substations to “shock the system.” That confidential source later introduced Philippi to an undercover FBI employee, who, along with other undercover agents, began gathering information about Philippi’s plan.

“Philippi investigated previous attacks on electrical substations and concluded that attacking with firearms would not be sufficient,” Angelo DeFeo, an FBI special agent, wrote in the court records released Monday. “Philippi therefore planned to use a drone with explosives attached to it and fly the drone into the substation.”

Philippi allegedly told undercover law enforcement officials that he had ties to several white nationalist and extremist groups, including the National Alliance, which calls for the extermination of the Jewish people and other races. Such extremist groups have increasingly been watching attacks on the United States electrical grid as a means to disrupt the country.

The U.S. power grid includes more than 6,400 power plants and 450,000 miles of power lines that cross the country.

In September, Philippi provided undercover officials with excerpts from his so-called manifesto, which focused heavily on preserving the white race.

On Saturday, Philippi and undercover associates drove to his intended launch site in Nashville and prepared to pilot a drone that authorities say Philippi believed had three pounds of C-4 attached to it. According to court documents, the material was provided by the undercover employees.

Law enforcement officers arrested Philippi shortly after arriving at the location.

“As the indictment read, Skyler Philippi believed he was moments away from launching an attack on a Nashville power plant to further his violent white supremacist ideology – but the FBI had already compromised his plot,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement.

A federal public defender was appointed to represent Philippi and a request for comment was sent to the attorney on Monday. Philippi is expected to appear in court on November 13.