Woman faces new charge in alleged plot to destroy Baltimore’s power grid
By Kate Amara
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BALTIMORE (WBAL) — A Catonsville woman accused of plotting to destroy Baltimore’s power grid with her alleged neo-Nazi boyfriend is facing a new charge.
Federal officials said Sarah Beth Clendaniel and alleged co-conspirator Brandon Clint Russell plotted to take out five substations.
According to the FBI, Clendaniel used multiple aliases — calling herself “Nythra88,” “Kali,” and “Irkalla” — upon her release from prison in Cecil County for holding up a convenience store with a machete.
The FBI said those aliases were used in what Clendaniel believed were clandestine communications with Russell, who went by the code names “Humungous,” and sometimes, “Raccoon,” depending on the encrypted app in use.
In February 2023, authorities arrested Russell at his Orlando, Florida, home, and Clendaniel at her Catonsville apartment. Both are set to be tried together on July 8.
This week, federal authorities added a second count against Clendaniel alone, charging her with being a prohibited person in possession of a shotgun. The language of her first count was also changed, adding details of the alleged conspiracy in “superseding information.”
This has led to speculation about whether a deal might be in the works, and whether Clendaniel might testify against Russell.
Russell’s attorney in Florida, Ian J. Goldstein, told 11 News: “(Russell) is being targeted because of his views. The government doesn’t like what he thinks and they don’t like what he says, and that’s why they are charging him.”
Goldstein told 11 News he thinks the government’s conspiracy case is weak.
“The evidence doesn’t support the claim that he, that Brandon Russell was agreeing to be part of any type of conspiracy,” Goldstein told 11 News.
WBAL-TV 11 News reached out to federal prosecutors, public defenders and private attorneys; however, most did not respond or refused to comment.
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