A Tennessee man with ties to white nationalist groups has been arrested after federal prosecutors say he tried to use what he thought was a drone packed with explosives to destroy a power station in Nashville, the Justice Department said Monday.
Skyler Philippi, 24, was charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to destroy an energy facility, prosecutors said in a news release.
According to a recently unsealed criminal complaint, Philippi allegedly told multiple undercover sources from the FBI that he wanted to blow up multiple energy stations to “shock the system” and lead to the collapse of the nation’s power grid. He also allegedly talked about other attacks, including a mass shooting at at YMCA facility and a plan to derail a train in Tennessee. Philippi allegedly told the FBI sources that he was affiliated with multiple white supremacist groups and said he believed a conspiracy theory about the 9/11 attacks.
In September 2024, Philippi allegedly began detailing a plan to attach explosives to a drone and fly it into an electric substation. He referenced previous power grid attacks, and alleged that he wanted to attack multiple substations, including one in Nashville and one in Louisville. Later in the month, he allegedly said he wanted to target two substations in the Nashville area.
Department of Justice
Philippi allegedly spoke with one of the FBI sources about supplying explosive materials. He said he wanted materials that could cut through three-quarter inch metal, according to the complaint, and settled for something the source described as “poor man’s C-4.” Philippi also allegedly wanted to assemble pipe bombs and asked the FBI source to provide him with black powder to make the bombs explode.
Throughout October, Philippi stayed in touch with the FBI sources, allegedly discussing how they would avoid being caught, outlining a plan for the attack, and giving updates about the drone, which he was building himself. He allegedly told the human source that he needed more explosives on October 19.
On Nov. 2, Philippi allegedly went to carry out the attack. The undercover sources were with him every step of the way, picking him up from his home, traveling to Nashville, and providing him with inoperative explosives, prosecutors said. They allegedly conducted a test flight of the drone, drove by the site of the substation, and again discussed the plan for the attack. At the hotel they were staying in, Philippi and the sources allegedly conducted a Nordic ritual associated with white supremacist groups. It involved each of the participants reciting a Norse prayer and discussing the Norse god Odin.
When asked if he was sure about the attack, Philippi allegedly told the agents that he was “fully committed” and that it was “time to do something big” that would be remembered “in the annals of history.”
Philippi and the FBI sources allegedly drove to the power station around 8:15 p.m. During the drive, he again outlined the plan to destroy the substation. The group wore masks to hide their identities.
Department of Justice
When they arrived, Philippi allegedly began preparing the drone, while the FBI sources assumed security positions. As he was preparing the drone and explosives, law enforcement agents arrested Philippi and took him into custody. At the time of his arrest, the drone was powered up, with what he believed was an armed explosive device about to be attached, according to the complaint.
“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,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in the Justice Department’s news release. “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.”
Philippi has been charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted destruction of an energy facility, and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted. A federal public defender has been appointed to represent him, according to the Associated Press, and he is set to appear in court on November 13.
The U.S. grid includes more than 6,400 power plants and 450,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines that span the country. Multiple attacks have targeted the power system in recent years. In 2022, such attacks rose by 71% as compared to 2021, CBS News previously reported. Kenneth Wainstein, undersecretary of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland Security, told CBS News in 2023 that the agency is “very concerned” about power grid attacks driven by white nationalist narratives.
“We’ve seen attacks against the power grid for a number of years, and some of those attacks are simply people shooting into substations around the country for purely criminal reasons. But some of these shootings are also being done by domestic violent extremists” who are trying to engineer a societal collapse, Wainstein said.
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