Sarah Beth Clendaniel, Conspiracy to Destroy Energy Facilities, Maryland 2024

A federal criminal complaint was unsealed charging Sarah Beth Clendaniel, 34, of Catonsville, Maryland, and Brandon Clint Russell, 27, of Orlando, Florida, with conspiracy to destroy an energy facility.

The defendants were arrested on February 3. Clendaniel will make her initial court appearance today in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brendan Hurson. Russell will make his initial appearance today in U.S. District Court in Orlando, Florida, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Embry Kidd.

"Driven by their ideology of racially-motivated hatred, the defendants allegedly schemed to attack local power grid facilities," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen. "The Justice Department will not tolerate those who threaten critical infrastructure and imperil communities in the name of domestic violent extremism."

"This alleged planned attack threatened lives and would have left thousands of Marylanders in the cold and dark," said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. "We are united and committed to using every legal means necessary to disrupt violence, including hate-fueled attacks."

"Attacks on multiple electrical substations in Maryland would have caused suffering to thousands of Americans going about their everyday lives, but the FBI and our partners put a stop to that threat," said Assistant Director Robert R. Wells of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division. "According to the criminal complaint, the defendants allegedly were taking specific steps to carry out their plans, including selecting targets and trying to illegally acquire a rifle. The FBI and our partners will hold accountable all those who commit criminal acts that threaten the safety of those in our communities, regardless of their motivations."

"The threat posed by domestic violent extremists is evolving and persistent," said Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. "The FBI will continue to work closely with our law enforcement and private sector partners to identify and disrupt any potential threat to the safety of our citizens."

Clendaniel and Russell each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to damage an energy facility. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/maryland-woman-and-florida-man-charged-federally-conspiring-destroy-energy-facilities