BALTIMORE — Sarah Beth Clendaniel was sentenced Wednesday to 18 years in prison for conspiring to attack Baltimore’s power grid.
In February 2023, Clendaniel and his alleged accomplice, Brandon Clint Russell, were federally indicted for planning attacks on several BGE energy facilities.
Both Clendaniel and Russell would attack the grid “at times when the strain on the grid is greatest,” such as “when everyone is using electricity to heat or cool their homes,” according to the charging documents.
Prosecutors said the two men had been partners since 2018 and both had criminal records.
“This planned attack threatened lives and would have left thousands of Marylanders in the cold and dark,” said U.S. Attorney for Maryland Erek L. Barron.
Engineering experts told WMAR in February that Baltimore had avoided a devastating attack.
RELATED: Baltimore avoided ‘devastating’ attack, engineering expert says
“The electrical grid is a major vulnerability,” said Rick Forno, associate director of UMBC’s Cybersecurity Center and an expert in electrical engineering and computer science. “Our modern way of life and business depend on it in large part.”
Clendaniel pleaded guilty in May, with an agreement in place to cooperate with authorities against Russell, who has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors recommended a sentence of less than 18 years for Clendaniel, but a federal judge disagreed.
After serving his 18-year sentence, Clendaniel will be on probation for the rest of his life.
“Such cowardice, intended to disrupt and endanger the lives of Maryland citizens, will not be tolerated,” said Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland. “My office remains committed to protecting the safety and well-being of the community by prosecuting such conduct to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Those who seek to attack our nation’s critical infrastructure will face the full force of the United States Department of Justice,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Sarah Beth Clendaniel sought to ‘completely destroy’ the City of Baltimore by targeting five electrical substations to advance her violent white supremacist ideology. She will now spend the next 18 years in federal prison. The Department of Justice 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.”
