A Tennessee man with ties to white nationalist groups was arrested after federal prosecutors said he tried to use what he thought was a drone packed with explosives to destroy a power plant in Nashville, the Ministry of Justice announced on Monday.
Skyler Philippi, 24, was charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted destruction of an energy facility, prosecutors said in a news release.
According to a recently unsealed criminal complaint, Philippi allegedly told multiple undercover FBI sources that he wanted to blow up several power plants to “shock the system” and lead to the collapse of the country’s power grid. He also reportedly spoke about other attacks, including a mass shooting at the YMCA and a plan to derail a train in Tennessee. Philippi reportedly told FBI sources that he was affiliated with several white supremacist groups and said he believed in a conspiracy theory about the 9/11 attacks.
In September 2024, Philippi reportedly began detailing a plan to attach explosives to a drone and fly it into an electrical substation. He referred previous attacks on the power gridand alleged that he wanted to attack several substations, including one in Nashville and one in Louisville. Later that month, he reportedly said he wanted to target two substations in the Nashville area.
Ministry of Justice
Philippi reportedly spoke with one of the FBI sources about the supply of explosive materials. He said he wanted materials that could cut three-quarter-inch metal, according to the complaint, and settled for something the source described as “a poor man’s C-4.” Philippi also allegedly wanted to assemble pipe bombs and asked the FBI source to provide him with black powder to detonate the bombs.
Throughout October, Philippi remained in contact with FBI sources, allegedly discussing how they would avoid arrest, outlining a plan of attack, and giving information about the drone, which he built it himself. He reportedly told the human source that he needed more explosives on October 19.
On November 2, Philippi would have gone to lead the attack. The undercover sources were with him every step of the way, picking him up from his home, driving to Nashville and supplying him with inoperative explosives, prosecutors said. They reportedly conducted a test flight of the drone, visited the substation site and discussed the attack plan again. At the hotel where they were staying, Philippi and the Springs allegedly conducted a Norse ritual associated with white supremacist groups. Each of the participants recited a Nordic prayer and discussed the Norse god Odin.
When asked if he was sure about the attack, Philippe reportedly told officers that he was “fully committed” and that it was “time to do something big” that would be remembered “in the annals of history.
Philippi and the FBI sources reportedly drove to the power plant around 8:15 p.m. During the ride, he again outlined the plan to destroy the substation. The group wore masks to hide their identities.
Ministry of Justice
Upon their arrival, Philippi reportedly began preparing the drone, while FBI sources manned security positions. While he was preparing the drone and the explosives, the police arrested Philippe and placed him in police custody. At the time of his arrest, the drone was powered on, with what he believed to be an armed explosive device about to be attached to it, according to the complaint.
“According to the indictment, Skyler Philippi believed he was about to launch an attack on a Nashville energy facility to promote his violent white supremacist ideology – but the FBI had already compromised his plot,” the prosecutor said. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in Department of Justice information. release. “This case serves as yet another warning to those who seek to sow violence and chaos in the name of hatred by attacking our nation’s critical infrastructure: the Department of Justice will find you, we will foil your plot, and we will demand accounts.”
Philippi was charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted destruction of a energy installationand faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted. A federal public defender has been appointed to represent him, according to the Associated Press, and he is scheduled to appear in court on November 13.
The U.S. grid includes more than 6,400 power plants and 450,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines that stretch across the country. Multiple attacks have targeted the electrical system over the last few years. In 2022, these attacks increased by 71% compared to 2021, CBS News previously reported. Kenneth Wainstein, deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, told CBS News in 2023 that the agency is “very concerned” about attacks on the power grid motivated by white nationalist narratives.
“We’ve been seeing attacks on the power grid for several years, and some of these attacks are simply people shooting up substations across the country for purely criminal reasons. But some of these shootings are also the work of “domestic violent extremists” who are trying to cause societal collapse, Wainstein said.
