Neo-Nazi gets maximum sentence in terror plot to destroy Maryland's power grid

Brandon Clint Russell, the leader of a neo-Nazi group, had nothing to say before a judge handed down the maximum 20-year sentence for his role in a white supremacist plot to destroy Maryland's power grid.

Baltimore District Court Judge James K. Bredar also ordered lifetime supervision for Russell once he is released.

Bredar called the Florida man "the brains" behind the chilling plan to destroy five Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE)substations in and around Baltimore and create a political revolution. 

The judge said Russell wanted to create a "bizarre utopia… where everyone looked like him."

Earlier this year, a jury found Russell guilty of conspiring to destroy the regional power grid.     

Judge Bredar called Russell "profoundly dangerous" and said he wanted "to engender terror, fear, and chaos." 

The judge also said Russell has "significant mental health issues."

"With the guidelines being what they are, yes, we were prepared for this," said Ian Goldstein, Russell's lawyer. 

When WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren asked Goldstein whether his client was dangerous, he replied, "He's always been very nice to me."

Recruited help in Maryland 

Prosecutors said Russell founded the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division and recruited Sarah Beth Clendaniel, a woman originally from Cecil County, through letters in a prison romance. 

Clendaniel was sentenced in 2024 to 18 years in prison for her role in the plot. 

Goldstein argued Russell should have received a lighter sentence than Clendaniel because he never set foot in Maryland and was "all talk."

"Ms. Clendaniel was the one who was actually going to go through with this attack, had armed herself and was prepared to do so," Goldstein said. "It was her idea, and she was charged with an additional crime that Mr. Russell was not charged with."

Hellgren spoke to Clendaniel's mother after her daughter's arrest in February 2023. At the time, she said she knew very little about Russell.

"She had mentioned him. But like I said, I didn't discuss her life," Lanette Clendaniel said. "She knew I didn't agree with it, so we really didn't go there. I don't know much about her private life." 

Disturbing prison newsletter 

Russell will now be in the custody of U.S. Marshals. 

He had been held at the Chesapeake Detention facility in Baltimore in segregation for his safety, according to a court filing.

Prosecutors accused Russell of continuing to have communication with Clendaniel as recently as last month through a third party, where they discussed a white prison newsletter.

Goldstein told Hellgren his client is still in a relationship with Clendaniel.

Past trouble with the law

Russell previously served a five-year sentence after authorities found explosive materials in his home in Florida along with a framed picture of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. 

He was still on supervised probation at the time of the terror plot.

"This is very much like a movie plot, and the defendant was the villain. …He remained unfazed, undeterred. He has become more resolute," prosecutor Michael Aubin said during sentencing.

In a sentencing memorandum, the U.S. Attorney's office wrote, "While in custody, the defendant did not seek to reform himself or show any remorse. Instead, he dug deeper into his racist ideology, creating neo-Nazi art and propaganda, and cultivated relationships with other neo-Nazis to aid in the furtherance of his criminal activity."

Russell's relatives pleaded with the judge in Baltimore for mercy.

"I just call him Brandon"

Russell's grandmother, Molly Russell, wrote, "Not until he got arrested for the first time did we realize he professed to being a white supremacist and had neo-Nazi beliefs."  

She also told Judge Bredar, "The things I saw in court, the writings, are not the Brandon I know. …I do not believe with all my heart he would ever commit a crime to such an extent as what he was found guilty of."

Asked if his client had any remorse, Goldstein told WJZ, "That's something you would have to ask him. But nothing happened."  

And as to whether his client is a neo-Nazi, Goldstein said, "I just call him Brandon."

Goldstein said they will appeal.