Neo-Nazi group founder gets 20 years for plot to attack Maryland power grid
Brandon Russell, the 30-year-old founder of the Florida-based neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for conspiring with his girlfriend to attack Maryland’s power grid in an attempt to advance their white supremacist ideology.
A federal jury convicted Russell earlier this year after prosecutors detailed his plans to carry out “sniper attacks” on electrical substations around Baltimore, a majority-Black city. Prosecutors said the pair hoped to trigger widespread chaos and then create “their own bizarre utopia populated by people who only look and think like they do,” , News.Az reports, citing foreign media
US District Judge James Bredar, who handed down the maximum sentence, called Russell “the brains behind the operation” and condemned his extremist beliefs. “The law doesn’t permit that. We don’t change course in this country via violent overthrow,” the judge said. Russell will also serve a lifetime of supervised release, with close monitoring of his electronic devices.
Russell’s co-defendant, Sarah Beth Clendaniel, was sentenced earlier this year to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty. The judge said Russell’s sentence was longer because of his greater culpability and the “intellectual horsepower” he provided to bring the plot closer to reality. The two were arrested in February 2023 before they could carry out their plan.
Defense attorney Ian Goldstein argued that Russell posed less of a threat because he never planned to travel to Maryland, but the judge rejected that argument, noting Russell’s influence and leadership role.
Russell co-founded Atomwaffen Division several years ago and had a prior conviction from 2017 for possession of explosives, following a double homicide at his Tampa residence that led police to discover neo-Nazi propaganda and bomb-making materials.
During Thursday’s sentencing in Baltimore, Russell declined to speak and showed no visible reaction as the judge announced the punishment.
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