(Washington) An American right-wing extremist was sentenced Wednesday to 18 years in prison for planning to attack electrical infrastructure around Baltimore, a city near Washington whose population is predominantly black.
Sarah Clendaniel, 36, was arrested in February 2023 in Maryland (east) at the same time as one of her relatives, Brandon Russell, co-founder of the American neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen in Florida (southeast).
Both belong to the “accelerationist” movement of white supremacy that has taken shape in the United States and has inspired perpetrators of attacks around the world, aiming to precipitate a “racial war” that it considers inevitable, according to the prosecution.
Sarah Clendaniel pleaded guilty in May 2024 to plotting to attack electrical infrastructure in Maryland and unlawful possession of a firearm based on her criminal record. She was sentenced Wednesday to 18 years and 15 years in prison on each count, respectively, sentences she will serve concurrently.
“Sarah Beth Clendaniel sought to ‘completely destroy’ the city of Baltimore by targeting five facilities in the name of her violent white supremacist ideology,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
“The defendant intended to cripple the power grid throughout the Baltimore area and harm thousands of people to accomplish a racially motivated violent extremist agenda,” FBI Director Christopher Wray also said.