The suspect in the Nashville drone terror plot, 24-year-old Skyler Philippi, has been unmasked by authorities. In court filings, he wore a skull mask and displayed homemade bombs during an unsuccessful attempt to blow up the Music City power grid.
He is charged with planning to detonate a power plant using a drone loaded with bombs that the authorities claim was “powered up” at the time of his detention in a nearby parking lot.
At a hearing scheduled on November 13, federal prosecutors will request that the judge place him in jail while he awaits trial, claiming that “no condition or combination of [bail] conditions will reasonably assure the safety of any other person and the community.”
Philippi was characterized by the prosecution as an alleged “accelerationist,” a phrase that has Marxist roots and is defined by the Anti-Defamation League as “a term White supremacists have assigned to their desire to hasten the collapse of society as we know it.”
Philippi texted a government informant, saying, “If you want to do the most damage as an accelerationist, attack high economic, high tax, political zones in every major metropolis,” the criminal complaint said.
He was later introduced to two FBI undercover agents by the informant, who assisted in stopping the plot before the drone carrying a live bomb could take flight.
The allegation claims that Philippi had antisemitic discussions about carrying out a mass massacre at a YMCA and causing a train to derrail.
According to the complaint, Philippi claimed to have previously been associated with White nationalist organizations, blamed “a Jewish person” for the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, and informed another informant that he had engaged in gunfire with a Black guy in Lousiville, Kentucky.
He allegedly intended to utilize a homemade drone fitted with explosives after researching previous attacks on the power grid and coming to the conclusion that destroying eight or more power plants at once would cripple the nation.
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According to the federal complaint, the FBI discovered him in the back seat of a car with a live bomb and the drone when they attempted to apprehend him. He allegedly handed his revolver to one of the informants, whom he believed would be a lookout, just moments before.
“As alleged, the defendant in this case conducted extensive research into explosive devices and potential targets to launch an attack against critical infrastructure,” Joe Carrico, the FBI’s special agent in charge of the Nashville Field Office stated. “The FBI is committed to doing everything in our ability to detect, disrupt, and deter attacks by domestic violent extremists, and will continue to pursue those who look to commit acts of violence in furtherance of their ideological beliefs.”
Philippi is accused of attempting to destroy an energy facility and using a weapon of mass destruction. He hasn’t made a plea yet.
