"A Tennessee man was arrested Saturday and charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to destroy an energy facility."

"A man has been charged after allegedly trying to blow up a Tennessee power substation as part of a white supremacist plot to upend American society, another potential instance of extremism targeting critical infrastructure.

Skyler Philippi, 24, spent months plotting an attack on the Nashville area, where he hoped to further his “accelerationist” goals of bringing about an all-white culture, according to charging documents. While communicating with confidential sources and undercover FBI agents, Philippi said that he wanted to “attack high economic, high tax, political zones” and that it was “time to do something big.”

Philippi, of Columbia, Tennessee, was arrested Saturday and charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to destroy an energy facility. He was in FBI custody in Nashville on Tuesday, and his attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment."

Jiselle Lee reports for the Washington Post November 5, 2024. [2]