A local terrorist allegedly tried to blow up a Nashville power plant using what federal prosecutors have called 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, according to prosecutors. announced on Monday.
They say Philippos was trying to promote his white supremacist goals and believed that blowing up the power plant would usher in a “New Era.”
“According to the charges, Skyler Philippi believed he was about to launch an attack on a Nashville energy facility to promote his violent white supremacist ideology, but the FBI had already compromised his plot,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“This case serves as yet another warning to those who seek to sow violence and chaos in the name of hate by attacking our country’s critical infrastructure: the Department of Justice will find them, we will thwart their plot, and we will hold them accountable.”
Skyler Philippi, 24, of Columbia, Tennessee, has been arrested for allegedly plotting to blow up a power plant in Nashville.
According to a criminal complaint, Philippi told an informant in June of 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 that he had written a manifesto about his desire to attack “high-tax cities or industrial areas to let thugs lose money,” using a derogatory word for the people. Jew.
In that conversation, he also discussed being involved in a shooting with a black person from Louisville, Kentucky, and argued that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, “were an inside job organized by a Jewish person.”
Philippi went on to tell informants that he was previously affiliated with white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups: the Atomwaffen Division and the National Alliance.
The two groups have previously attacked racial minorities, the Jewish community, the LGBTQ+ community, the government, journalists and infrastructure.
Prosecutors said he spoke with undercover agents about acquiring C-4 and building pipe bombs.
During that Aug. 7 conversation, prosecutors say Philippi again mentioned his plan to attack nine power plants across the country to help accelerate the collapse of the U.S. power grid.
In September, Philippi is said to have met with undercover agents to discuss his plans.
He said he had investigated previous attacks on electrical substations and concluded that attacking them with firearms would not be enough, according to the complaint.
Instead, Philippi allegedly planned to use a drone with explosives attached, which would fly to the substation.
Philippi also allegedly said he wanted to build the drone himself, claiming the parts would “cost around $150” and that he could “3D print the (drone) body for pennies.”
He then reportedly asked the undercover agents to get the parts he needed and showed them an open source website with the locations of electrical substations in the Nashville area.
“I definitely want to get to Nashville, 100 percent, I want to get to Nashville,” Philippi told officers, according to the complaint.
‘I also know Louisville very well, having lived there.
“I spent about five months exploring each (power plant) location and even coming up with a plan to attack as fast as I could,” he allegedly added.
“I made complete maps, printed on paper, to achieve this.”
Their plan was to supposedly attach explosives to a drone and fly it toward the power plant.
Later that month, prosecutors say Philippi drove with undercover agents to an electrical substation he had previously investigated and targeted for reconnaissance.
While driving, the undercover agents introduced him to a third undercover agent who said he could provide them with explosives, and that agent agreed to provide him with “the poor man’s C-4.”
Later, the crew also talked about making homemade bombs, and Philippi said he bought black powder to use in the bombs.
During the reconnaissance mission, Philippi is said to have noticed that certain components of the substation were flammable and attacking them was “guarantee to take down everything” and “destroy evidence.”
‘Holy shit. “This is going to go off like fucking Fourth of July fireworks,” 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 suggesting they wear leather gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints and oversized shoes. .
Philippi also allegedly suggested that they leave their smartphones on the night of the attack, rent a Toyota Prius to blend in with a nearby neighborhood where he planned to launch the drone from, and then burn their clothes.
Then, on the day of the planned attack, November 2, Philippi and his covert accomplices participated in a “Norse ritual” in which they recited a Norse prayer and spoke about the Norse god Odin.
From there, the crew had lunch and returned to a hotel, where one of the agents asked him what the attack meant to him.
He supposedly 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 run-up to the planned attack, one of the undercover agents gave Philippi inactive C-4 and instructions on how to use it, and when he was detained, the drone was already powered up with the explosive device armed, prosecutors said. .
“Philippi was ready to place the explosives on the drone when he was detained,” the criminal complaint reads.
“Philippi attempted to use a weapon of mass destruction to destroy an energy facility that supplies 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.
