BREAKING: Tennessee man charged with attempting to destroy Nashville energy facility with weapon of mass destruction

A 24-year-old Tennessee man has been arrested and charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to destroy a Nashville energy facility, the Department of Justice announced Monday. 

In June, Skyler Philippi allegedly told a confidential human source (CHS) that he wanted to carry out a mass shooting at a YMCA facility in or near Columbia, Tennessee. In July, he told another CHS "about the impact of attacking large interstate substations and said that attacking several substations would 'shock the system,’ causing other substations to malfunction," the press release stated.

The DOJ said that Philippi had researched previous attacks on electrical substations and allegedly came to the conclusion that carrying out an attack with firearms would not work, so he planned to use a drone with explosives attached to it. 

Philippi reportedly drove with undercover employees (UCEs) from the FBI in September to an electric substation he had previously researched to conduct reconnaissance. While driving to the substation, Philippi "ordered a plastic explosive composition known as C-4 and other explosives from the UCEs," and later purchased black powder for use in pipe bombs that would allegedly be used in the attack.

In a text to the CHS, Philippi reportedly wrote, "if you want to do the most damage as an accelerationist, attack high economic, high tax, political zones in every major metropolis," and added, "Holy sh*t. This will go up like a f*ckin fourth of July firework."

Philippi also allegedly spoke about using disguises, leather gloves as latex and nitrile ones can transfer fingerprints, wearing shoes that are too big, burning their clothing after the attack, and not bringing smartphones on the night of the attack.

The Department of Justice wrote, "On Nov. 2, 2024, Philippi participated in a Nordic ritual, which included reciting a Nordic prayer and discussing the Norse god Odin. Philippi told the UCEs that 'this is where the New Age begins' and that it was 'time to do something big' that would be remembered 'in the annals of history.'"

Philippi and the UCEs drove to the substation, where the UCEs moved to their assigned lookout positions and law enforcement agents arrested Philippi. The report stated that when Philippi was taken into custody, "Philippi was at the rear of the vehicle, with the drone powered up, and the explosive device was armed and located next to the drone."