Maryland Neo-Nazi Sentenced to 18 Years for Plot to Attack Baltimore Power Grid

Sarah Beth Clendaniel, a 36-year-old Maryland woman, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for plotting to attack Baltimore's power grid. Clendaniel, affiliating with a neo-Nazi group, aimed to further a white supremacist agenda. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland emphasized the Justice Department's commitment to countering such threats to national security.

In a landmark case, Sarah Beth Clendaniel, a 36-year-old Maryland woman with ties to a neo-Nazi group, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for her involvement in a plot to attack Baltimore's power grid, according to the U.S. Justice Department and court documents. Clendaniel had planned to target five electrical substations, seeking to further a white supremacist ideology aimed at undermining American society, prosecutors revealed.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland stressed the Justice Department's determination in combating hate-fueled attacks on critical infrastructure. 'The Justice Department will continue to aggressively counter, disrupt, and prosecute those who seek to launch these kinds of hate-fueled attacks that target our critical infrastructure, endanger entire cities, and threaten our national security,' Garland stated.

Clendaniel, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to damage an energy facility and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, was overheard telling an associate that the successful execution of the plan would 'completely destroy this whole city.' Despite a plea for a reduced 10-year sentence due to her challenging upbringing, Clendaniel received an 18-year term. Her co-conspirator, Brandon Russell, founder of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, awaits trial.

(With inputs from agencies.)