Maryland
Neo-Nazi leader found guilty of plotting Maryland power grid attack
A man was found guilty of conspiracy to damage an energy facility after officials say he planned to attack transformers inside Maryland electrical substations and cause a “cascading failure” in the name of white supremacy.
A federal jury found 29-year-old Brandon Russell of Orlando, Florida, guilty after a six-day trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Maryland announced Monday.
According to court documents obtained by USA TODAY, Russell admitted to having “National Socialist,” or Nazi, beliefs and previously started his own national socialist group that targets racial minorities, the Jewish community, the LGBTQIA community, the U.S. government, journalists and critical infrastructure.
Officials said that between November 2022 and February 3, 2023, Russell planned to attack “critical infrastructure” such as transformers located within electrical substations. Officials said he made the plans due to racist and “violent extremist beliefs.”
While planning the attacks on the transformers, Russell allegedly noted that just a few attacks could lead to “cascading failure.”
A lawyer for Russell declined to comment Tuesday morning.
Prosecutors: Man recruited Maryland woman to enact his plan
Russell planned to have Maryland-based woman Sarah Beth Clendaniel help him carry out the attacks in Baltimore and other areas, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in its news release.
According to the DOJ, Clendaniel and Russell were plotting to significantly damage Baltimore’s regional power grid, which could’ve cost more than $75 million to fix.
He also told an unnamed, confidential source for the Federal Bureau of Investigation that attacks are best made “when there is greatest strain on the grid,” like “when everyone is using electricity to either heat or cool their homes,” according to court documents.
Officials quoted Clendaniel, who said if they hit enough substations within 24 hours, they could “completely destroy this whole city” and the damage would “probably permanently completely lay this city to waste if we could do that successfully.”
According to the court documents, Clendaniel told Russell she had a terminal kidney illness and most likely wouldn’t live for longer than a few more months. She said she was a felon and wasn’t able to get a gun herself. She wanted to “accomplish something worthwhile” before her death, and wanted a gun “within the next couple of weeks,” court documents show.
U.S. District Judge Bredar sentenced Clendaniel to 18 years in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release in September 2024, the DOJ said. She was also sentenced to a concurrent sentence of 15 years for being a felon in possession of a firearm and three years of supervised release.
Florida man led his own Nazi group in 2017
According to court documents, Russell lived with three roommates in 2017 and led a Neo-Nazi group. His three roommates were part of the group when one of them, Devon Arthurs, left and converted to Islam. According to Arthurs, two of their roommates bullied him for being Muslim. He then killed them.
Arthurs told police that Russell was the leader of the Neo-Nazi group, and that Russell and their other two roommates had been planning to attack U.S. infrastructure, according to court documents.
Russell was charged with and pleaded guilty to possession of an unregistered destructive device and improper storage of explosive materials, court documents show. He was sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
“Russell has served his sentence and is currently on supervised release,” officials wrote in Feb. 2023.
Russell is now facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to damage an energy facility. Senior United States District Judge James K. Bredar will decide his sentence, but as of Tuesday, no sentencing date has been scheduled.
Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno condemned Russell’s actions in the news release, calling him a “self-proclaimed National Socialist.”
“Today’s verdict reinforces there is no tolerance for those who seek to harm our communities and use violence to further hate-filled beliefs,” DelBagno said.
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.
Maryland schools made nation-leading strides in their recovery from students’ learning loss in the pandemic, data show.
Maryland schools made nation-leading strides in their recovery from students’ learning loss in the pandemic, according to new data.
They ranked third in the nation in their students’ reading recovery rates, and were fifth in math recovery, according to the 2025 Education Scorecard from Harvard and Stanford Universities and Dartmouth College.
D.C. led the U.S. in math and reading recovery.
The data was presented at the Maryland State Board of Education meeting Thursday.
Trish Brennan-Gac, executive director of literacy nonprofit Maryland READS, said the state board is correct to celebrate gains in reading, but proficiency is “nowhere near where we need to be.”
“It is not that we are No. 3-ranked in reading proficiency,” she told WTOP. “It’s a rate of change, and we are making a faster rate of change,” than most school districts nationally.
Brennan-Gac was at the meeting to ask that the state board consider ways to reduce the use of technology in classroom instruction and support a return to print and textbooks in schools.
“This is no longer a fringe concern. It is a growing movement, and it’s not about social media and phones,” she told the board.
Brennan-Gac said the board and Maryland schools superintendent Carey Wright can take a “visible meaningful leadership role.”
“You can develop transition guidance and funding pathways for districts that are ready to move now, and send a clear signal to the field that Maryland prioritizes developmentally appropriate instruction aligned to brain research that shows how books, not tech-based platforms, are effective in wiring kids’ brains for reading,” she said.
The Maryland State Department of Education has issued guidance to school districts on the use of cellphones in schools, and this year issued guidance on the use of artificial intelligence. In both instances, the state has made clear that it leaves implementation of policies to individual school districts.
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Gov. Wes Moore has requested a federal disaster declaration to help farmers recover from their losses after temperatures dipped into the 20s in April, devastating some of Maryland’s agriculture industry.
Temperatures dipped into the low to mid 20s for several hours, causing widespread damage to crops, wine grapes, berries, peaches and apples in some parts of the state.
“We had 6, 7 hours I believe here under 32 and that’s just a lot of stress on those small fruits and buds,” said Ben Butler, the farm manager of Butler’s Orchard in Germantown back in April.
Moore asked for the U.S. agriculture secretary to declare a federal disaster using Maryland Farm Service Agency data to back up the request. According to the agency, there were historic losses, including 94% of the apple crop, 99% of the peach crop and 98% of the barley in several jurisdictions.
The Maryland Wineries Association says 36% of grape acreage sustained total losses, with a $24.4 million projected deficit in wine sales for the 2026 vintage.
“For the majority of the varieties, the yield, the 2026 crop yield, will essentially be zero,” said Robert Butz, the owner of Windridge Vineyards.
The hours-long deep freeze in April left grapes at Windridge Vineyards in Germantown dead on the vine.
News4 visited Windridge Vineyards just a few days after the disaster. Butz said not only were there grape losses, some of the vines were damaged as well. He called the devastation “catastrophic.”
It’s challenging, but he said he’s pleased with the support being given to local farmers and the disaster declaration request.
“This announcement by the governor is further evidence of that, right,” Butz said. “Marylanders care about their farmers. That’s great.It’s incredibly gratifying for those who do this work.”
Moore is asking the agriculture secretary for a quick decision so emergency loans and relief programs are made available right away so farmers can prepare for the next growing season.
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