Undercover FBI Agents Block White Supremacist’s Pipe Bomb Attack

24-year-old Skyler Philippi of Columbia, Tennessee, was arrested just before attempting to damage a Nashville power grid with his drone. He planned to rig the device with pipe bombs to destroy the facility.

The US Department of Justice charged Philippi with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to destroy an energy facility, earning him up to a life sentence.

“As alleged in today’s charges, Skyler Philippi, a man dedicated to white supremacist ideology and the destruction of our critical infrastructure, planned to attack Nashville’s power grid using a drone carrying an explosive device,” stated Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Thanks to brave work by the FBI, his scheme was thwarted.”

Philippi allegedly told an anonymous source that he wanted to commit a mass shooting at a local YMCA in June. Then, a month later, he expressed to someone else that damaging a large interstate substation would “shock the system” and cause widespread malfunctions. He researched prior substation attacks to decide what to use in his attempt.

After being tipped off about Philippi’s plan, undercover FBI employees met him at a substation near Franklin, Tennessee for a drone test flight. Philippi tried to purchase C-4 and other explosive materials from the Feds before buying black powder to create pipe bombs.

be rigged to his drone to make the substation “go up like a fu--in fourth of July firework,” Philippi said in a text.

Philippi asked the undercover Feds to wear disguises, gloves, and oversized shoes on the night of the attack. He also told them to leave their phones behind and prepare to burn their outfits afterwards.

The crew drove together to the site. Once they arrived, the undercover FBI authorities moved into position and law enforcement officers arrested Philippi. The armed explosives were sitting next to the drone, which had already been powered on.

“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,” explained Attorney General Merrick Garland.

FMI: www.fbi.gov