A Columbia, Tenn., man's plot to blow up part of Nashville's energy grid was intercepted and stopped by FBI agents who had disguised themselves as his co-conspirators. Skyler Philippi, 24, was charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to destroy an energy facility. The U.S. Justice Department, through FBI informants who communicated with Philippi for months, outlined the details of Philippi's alleged plan, which it said was motivated by racial hatred. Philippi was connected with several white-supremacist groups, reports the Nashville Tennessean. 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 Garland.
Prosecutors said that Philippi, whom extremist researchers have been aware of since January, told an informant that he wanted to commit a mass shooting at a YMCA in Columbia. He told informants about a plan to fly a drone mounted with explosives into an energy substation in Nashville. He purchased explosives in preparation for the attack. Before his arrest on Saturday, Philippi performed a Nordic ritual and told the informants 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.” The drone was powered up and the explosive device was armed when Philippi was arrested.
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