Two people, including a neo-Nazi group leader, were arrested last week for allegedly planning a "racially motivated" attack on Baltimore's power grid, the FBI said Monday.
Brandon Russell, founder of the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division, and Sarah Beth Clendaniel were apprehended last week in Florida and Maryland, respectively, FBI officials said, CBS News reported.
Federal authorities described the alleged plot as "racially motivated."
"The accused were not just talking, but taking steps to fulfill their threats and further their extremist goals," said Thomas Sobocinski, special agent in charge of the FBI Baltimore field office, CBS News reported.
"Their actions threatened the electricity and heat of our homes, hospitals and businesses. The FBI believes this was a real threat," Sobocinski said, ABC News reported.
Clendaniel was recorded allegedly telling an FBI informant about her plans to shoot Baltimore-area energy substations in Norrisville, Reisterstown, and Perry Hall.
She is accused of collaborating with Russell, whose Atomwaffen Division is bent on "ushering in the collapse of civilization," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
NBC News reported that Russell's group admires Charles Manson and supports "the idea of lone wolf violence," according to the Anti-Defamation League.
In December, there were two high-profile incidents involving the nation's power grids: shootings at two central-North Carolina electrical substations, and attacks at four electricity substations near Tacoma, Washington.
The FBI last month also responded to another incident of gunfire at a North Carolina substation.
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