Justice Department arrests man accused of plotting to destroy energy facility in Nashville, inspired by neo-Nazis

A 24-year-old Tennessee man has been arrested and charged with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction in a neo-Nazi-inspired plot to destroy an energy facility near Nashville, the Justice Department announced Monday.

Skyler Filippi allegedly planned to attack Nashville’s power grid with a drone armed with explosives after conducting extensive research on how such an attack could “shock the system,” one confidential FBI source who learned of his plot reportedly told prosecutors. said

The FBI first began investigating Filippi in June after a confidential source who had been in contact with him told the FBI about his alleged desire to carry out a mass shooting at a YMCA near Columbia, Tennessee, according to the complaint.

Filippi allegedly repeatedly espoused the ideologies of white supremacy and accelerationism, which promote the idea that a destabilizing terrorist attack on something like the country’s energy sectors could help fuel unrest that would lead to civil war, according to prosecutors.

“I definitely want to get to Nashville, one hundred percent, I want to get Nashville,” Filippi allegedly said in one of the meetings recorded by undercover agents, according to the complaint. “I also know Louisville very well, having lived there. I spent about five months researching each location (power plant) and even developing a game plan to hit it as quickly as possible. I had whole cards. done, printed on paper, to actually do it.’

In September, Filippi and undercover FBI agents went to an electrical substation he had previously investigated, and while en route, Filippi allegedly ordered what he believed to be the equivalent of C-4 explosives from informants, according to the complaint.

During the investigation, undercover agents recorded Filippi saying, “Oh my god … It’s going to go up like f—– fireworks on the Fourth of July,” the complaint said.

On Saturday, Filippi allegedly met with undercover agents to test the drone and carry out the attack, according to the complaint. The complaint includes a photo of what prosecutors say is Filippi conducting a test flight of the drone.

According to the complaint, the agents supplied Filippi with pipe bombs allegedly ordered by the defendant that contained an inert substance to prevent them from exploding. Another photo included in the complaint shows a masked person who prosecutors say shows Filippi, along with two undercover FBI agents, showing off pipe bombs and an explosive device.

Before going to the surgery site, Filippi took part in a “Norse ritual” during which he allegedly said: “This is where the New Era begins” and that it was “time to do something big” that would be remembered “in the annals of history “, the complaint states.

Once at the scene of the operation, as the undercover agents moved into their designated positions as observers, Filippi allegedly activated the drone with an explosive device that he believed had an active C-4 attached, according to the complaint. After that, he was taken into custody, the prosecutor’s office reported.

“According to the indictment, Skyler Filippi believed he was moments away from attacking a Nashville energy facility to advance his violent ideology of white supremacy, but the FBI had already compromised his plot,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “This case is yet another warning to those who seek to sow violence and mayhem in the name of hate by attacking our nation’s critical infrastructure: The Department of Justice will find you, we will disrupt your plot, and we will bring you to justice.”

Philippi is charged with an attempt to use a weapon of mass destruction and an attempt to destroy an energy facility. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, the Justice Department said.

According to court records, he had his first court appearance on Monday and was temporarily detained. The preliminary hearing and the detention hearing were extended to November 13.

ABC News has reached out to Filippi’s attorney for comment.