Officials with the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office in Baltimore announced that they had arrested two people, a man and a woman, with extremist views who were allegedly trying to attack the power grid in Maryland.
FBI officials told reporters they believe it was a “real threat” that had been thwarted.
One of the defendants, Sarah Beth Clendaniel, of Catonsville, Maryland, allegedly told a confidential FBI source that she planned to attack five substations, including Norrisville, Reisterstown and Perry Hall, the Baltimore Banner reported. If they were attacked the same day, she allegedly said she would “utterly destroy this entire city,” according to the charging documents.
NC SUBSTATION SABOTAGE: FBI INVESTIGATES WHETHER ATTACKS ON POWER GRID IN RANDOLPH AND MOORE COUNTY ARE RELATED
The FBI has arrested at least two people in connection with an attempted attack on the power grid in Maryland. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Clendaniel is accused of collaborating with Orlando native Brandon Clint Russell in the plot, FOX 5 DC reported.
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“The utility sector has a real problem on its hands. Power plants are an attractive target and domestic terrorist groups know that destroying this infrastructure can have a chilling effect on industry, citizens and local governments,” said the former Department of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Brian Harrell, who was appointed in 2018 by former President Donald Trump, told Fox News Digital on Monday. “Attackers certainly understand what to shoot at and which assets are the most critical in a substation. It is difficult to protect all power assets. This would come at a huge price that utility customers would have to pay.”
This is a developing story. Please check for updates.
