BALTIMORE — Sarah Beth Clendaniel was sentenced to 18 years in prison Wednesday for conspiring to attack Baltimore's electrical grid.
In February 2023, Clendaniel and her alleged accomplice, Brandon Clint Russell, were federally charged for planning to shoot up multiple BGE energy facilities.
Both Clendaniel and Russell were going to attack the grid "when there is greatest strain on the grid," like "when everyone is using electricity to either heat or cool their homes," according to charging documents.
Prosecutors said the pair have been associated with each other since 2018, and both have criminal records.
“This planned attack threatened lives and would have left thousands of Marylanders in the cold and dark,” said Maryland U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron.
Engineering experts told WMAR back in February that Baltimore avoided a devastating attack.
RELATED: Baltimore avoided ‘devastating’ attack, says engineering expert
"The power grid is a huge vulnerability," said Rick Forno, Assistant Director for the UMBC Center for Cybersecurity, and an expert in electrical engineering and computer science. "So much of our modern way of life and business is dependent on it.”
Clendaniel pleaded guilty back in May, with a deal in place to cooperate with the authorities against Russell, who pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors recommended a sentence of 18 years for Clendaniel, and a federal judge agreed.
After serving the 18-year sentence, Clendaniel will be on supervised release for the rest of her life.
“Such cowardice, designed to disrupt and endanger the lives of Maryland’s citizens, will not be tolerated,” said Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland. “My Office remains committed to protecting the security and well-being of the community by prosecuting such conduct to the full extent of the law.”
“Those who seek to attack our country’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 power substations as a means of furthering her violent white supremacist ideology. She will now spend the next 18 years in federal prison. The Justice Department 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.”
*Editor's Note: A previous version of this story inaccurately stated prosecutors recommended a sentence of less than 18 years.
