He wanted to lay Baltimore to waste.
Terror attacks on power installations are nothing new, but one Orlando resident who messed around with the grid in Maryland will serve hard time for his electrical interference.
Brandon Clint Russell of Orlando was sentenced to two decades in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for “conspiring to damage or destroy electrical facilities,” after a successful federal prosecution in Maryland.
“Russell allowed hatred to drive him and his co-conspirator to plot a dangerous scheme that could have harmed thousands of people,” U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes said. “The sentence imposed today reflects the gravity of Russell’s egregious conduct and his ongoing threat to public safety. This conviction underscores our unwavering commitment to dismantling violent extremist threats and holding accountable anyone who dares to conspire to endanger the lives of others.”
The goal of the attacks, per the U.S. Attorney’s Office, was to set off a “cascading failure” of electrical infrastructure in Baltimore and beyond. Russell purportedly was driven to do this by “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist beliefs.”
He also encouraged others to join in his campaign, posting open-source maps of installations.
Co-conspirator Sarah Beth Clendaniel offered corroboration for the government’s case in the end, saying the plan was to fire shots into electrical infrastructure and “permanently completely lay this city to waste.”
Post Views: 0