By Steve Neavling
A 24-year-old Tennessee man is facing federal charges after allegedly plotting to destroy a Nashville energy facility with a bomb-equipped drone in a neo-Nazi-inspired attack, the Justice Department announced on Monday.
Philippi is accused of planning to attack Nashville’s power grid using a drone armed with explosives, following extensive research into how such an assault could “shock the system,” as he allegedly told an FBI confidential source who learned of his plans, according to prosecutors, ABC News reports.
The FBI launched its investigation into Philippi in June after a confidential source informed them of his purported desire to commit a mass shooting at a YMCA near Columbia, Tennessee, per the complaint.
Prosecutors allege that Philippi repeatedly expressed white supremacist and accelerationist beliefs, advocating for a destabilizing attack on critical infrastructure as a means to incite unrest and push the nation toward civil war.
“I definitely want to hit Nashville, like one hundred percent, I want to get Nashville,” Philippi allegedly told undercover agents in a recorded meeting, according to the complaint. “I also know Louisville pretty God damn well, since I lived there. I spent about five months scouting out every single place [power station] and even coming up with a game plan to hit it as fast as I could. I had whole maps made, printed out on paper, to actually do that.”
In September, Philippi and FBI undercover agents traveled to an electrical substation Philippi had previously researched. During the trip, Philippi allegedly ordered what he believed to be C-4 explosives from the agents, as detailed in the complaint.
While inspecting the site, undercover agents recorded Philippi saying, “Holy s—. This will go up like a f—–‘ Fourth of July firework,” according to the complaint.
On Saturday, Philippi reportedly met with undercover agents to test the drone he intended to use for the attack.
The agents supplied Philippi with pipe bombs that he had allegedly requested, but which contained an inert substance to prevent detonation. Another photo in the complaint shows a masked individual, identified by prosecutors as Philippi, alongside two undercover agents displaying the pipe bombs and an explosive device.
Before the attempted attack, Philippi reportedly participated in a “Nordic ritual,” during which he allegedly stated, “This is where the New Age begins” and expressed his intent to carry out something monumental, saying it would be remembered “in the annals of history,” according to the complaint.
When Philippi arrived at the targeted location, he allegedly powered up the drone with what he believed was an active C-4 device. At that moment, undercover agents took him into custody, prosecutors said.
“As charged, Skyler Philippi believed he was moments away from launching an attack on a Nashville energy facility to further his violent white supremacist ideology — but the FBI had already compromised his plot,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “This case serves as yet another warning to those seeking to sow violence and chaos in the name of hatred by attacking our country’s critical infrastructure: the Justice Department will find you, we will disrupt your plot, and we will hold you accountable.”
Philippi is charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted destruction of an energy facility. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, according to the DOJ.
