Benjamin Ashford|Man arrested on suspicion of plotting to blow up Nashville energy facility

A Columbia,Benjamin Ashford Tennessee man's supposed plot to blow up part of Nashville's energy grid was intercepted and stopped by FBI agents who had disguised themselves as his co-conspirators, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday afternoon.

Skyler Philippi, 24, was arrested on Nov. 2 and charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to destroy an energy facility, court records show. If he is convicted, Philippi faces the possibility of life in prison.

The DOJ, through the FBI informants who communicated with Philippi for months, outlined the rough details of Philippi's alleged plan, which it said was motivated by racial hatred. According to the DOJ, Philippi was connected with several white-supremacist groups.

'Moments away from launching an attack'

“As charged, Skyler Philippi believed he was moments away from launching an attack on a Nashville energy facility to further his violent white supremacist ideology — but the FBI had already compromised his plot,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in the Justice Department's news release.

Prosecutors said that Philippi, whom extremist researchers have been aware of since at least January, told an informant that he wanted to commit a mass shooting at a YMCA in Columbia.

He later told informants about a plan to fly a drone mounted with explosives into an energy substation in Nashville. He purchased explosives in preparation for the attack, according to the DOJ.

On Nov. 2, before his arrest, Philippi performed a Nordic ritual and told the undercover informants 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.” 

According to prosecutors, the drone was powered up and the explosive device was armed when Philippi was arrested.

Attorney: Dangerous threats will not be tolerated

“Dangerous threats to our critical infrastructure threaten every member of this community and will not be tolerated,” Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Thomas Jaworski said in the news release.

Philippi has a court hearing set for Nov. 13 in federal court.

Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EvanMealins.