The co-founder of the American neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen and one of his relatives have been arrested in the United States, where they are accused of wanting to attack electrical transformers, judicial authorities announced on Monday February 6.
Brandon Russell, 27, was arrested in Florida (Southeast) and Sarah Clendaniel, 34, in the state of Maryland (East).
They are both prosecuted for "
conspiracy to attack energy infrastructure
", a charge punishable by 20 years in prison.
Explosives at home
He is a figure of the American far-right: he announced in 2015 the creation of the "
Atomwaffen Division
", a neo-Nazi small group which advocates violent action to cause the "
collapse of society
", according to the Southern Poverty Law Center reference site.
In 2017, his roommate and sympathizer had committed a double murder.
During the search of their home, the police discovered explosives belonging to Brandon Russell, who had been sentenced to five years in prison.
During his detention, he had started chatting online with Sarah Clendaniel, herself imprisoned for attacking a convenience store with a machete.
The two then remained in contact, discussing the possibility
of “having children together
” or leading a “
guerrilla war
”, according to the indictment.
According to this document, Brandon Russell had begun to plot in June 2022, a series of attacks against electrical infrastructure intended to cause "
cascading failures
" in the country and had posted several plans and photos of transformers on sites. sharing.
“Completely destroy the city”
Sarah Clendaniel then volunteered to attack five sites in order to "
completely destroy the city
" of Baltimore, on the east coast, the majority of whose population is African-American.
Suffering from an incurable disease, the young woman had explained that she wanted
to “achieve something big
” before dying, and had made arrangements to obtain a weapon.
Kept informed by an informant, the police intervened before they took action.
Read alsoUnited Kingdom: prison sentences for “Miss Hitler” and young neo-Nazis
US authorities warned more than a year ago of a campaign of targeted attacks on power infrastructure by far-right groups.
In recent months, electrical transformers have been damaged in Ohio, North Carolina and suburban Seattle.
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