Terrorist tries to blow up Nashville power plant

A homegrown terrorist allegedly tried to blow up a Nashville power plant using what federal prosecutors have referred to as a weapon of mass destruction.

Skyler Philippi, 24, of Columbia, Tennessee has been arrested for allegedly plotting to destroy the power plant using explosives attached to a drone, prosecutors announced on Monday.

They say Philippi was trying to further his white supremacist goals and believed that blowing up the power plant would usher in a 'New Age.'

'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.

'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.'

According to a criminal complaint, Philippi told an informant in June about his desire to commit a mass shooting at a YMCA facility located in his hometown.

The following month, he allegedly told another person about the impact of attacking large interstate substations, saying it would 'shock the system' and cause other substations to malfunction.

Later, prosecutors say, Philippi told the informant and an undercover agent he had written a manifesto about his desire to attack 'high tax cities or industrial areas to let the k***s lose money,' using a derogatory word for Jewish people.

In that conversation, he also reportedly spoke about getting into a shooting with a black person from Louisville, Kentucky, and argued that the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks 'were an inside job organized by a Jewish person.'

Philippi went on to tell the informants he was previously affiliated with white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups: the Atomwaffen Division and the National Alliance.

The two groups have previously targeted racial minorities, the Jewish community, the LGBTQ+ community, government, journalists and infrastructure.

During that conversation on August 7, prosecutors say Philippi once again brought up his plan of attacking nine power plants across the country to assist in accelerating the collapse of the American power grid.

By September, Philippi is said to have met with undercover agents to discuss his plans.

He said he had researched previous attacks on electric substations, and concluded that attacking it with guns would not be sufficient, the complaint says.

Instead, Philippi allegedly planned to use a drone with explosives attached to it, which he would fly to the substation. 

Philippi also allegedly said he wanted to build the drone himself, claiming the parts would 'cost around $150' and he could '3D print the [drone] body for pennies.'

He then reportedly asked the undercover agents to get the parts he needed, and showed the agents an open-source website with the locations electric substations in the Nashville area.

'I definitely want to hit Nashville, like 100 percent, I want to get Nashville,' Philippi told the agents, according to the complaint.

'I also know Louisville pretty God d*** 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 as fast as I could,' he allegedly added. 

'I had whole maps made, printed out on paper, to actually do that.' 

Later that month, prosecutors say Philippi drove with undercover agents to an electric substation he had previously researched and targeted to conduct reconnaissance.

While driving, the undercover agents introduced him to a third undercover agent who said he could provide explosives, and that agent agreed to provide 'poor man's C-4.'

The crew later also discussed making pipe bombs, with Philippi saying he purchased black powder to use in the bombs.

During the reconnaissance mission, Philippi is said to have noted that certain components of the substation were flammable and attacking them 'guaranteed to take everything down' and 'destroy evidence.'

'Holy s***. This will go up like a f***in' Fourth of July firework,' the accused terrorist allegedly said.

He is also said to have spoken to the undercover agents about operational security, telling them to dress as members of the clergy with fake glasses on the night of the attack, and suggested they wear leather gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints and shoes that are too large. 

Philippi also allegedly suggested they leave their smartphones behind on the night of the attack, rent a Toyota Prius to blend into a nearby neighborhood from where he planned to launch the drone and burn their clothes afterward. 

Then on the day of the planned attack, November 2, Philippi and his undercover accomplices participated in a 'Nordic ritual' in which they recited a Nordic prayer and discussed the Norse god Odin.

From there, the crew got lunch and returned to a hotel,  where one of the agents asked him what the attack meant to him.

He allegedly responded that '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.'

In the lead-up to the planned attack, one of the undercover agents handed Philippi inactive C-4 and instructions on how to use it, and when he was taken into custody the drone was already powered up with the explosive device armed, prosecutors said.

'Philippi was prepared to attach the explosives to the drone when he was arrested,' the criminal complaint reads.

'Philippi attempted to use a weapon of mass destruction to destroy an energy facility that provides electricity to hundreds of businesses, thereby affecting interstate commerce.'

He is charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted destruction of an energy facility.

If convicted, Philippi faces a maximum penalty of life behind bars.