Woman accused of neo-Nazi plot to attack Baltimore's energy grid faces new charges

BALTIMORE -- A Baltimore County woman accused of conspiring to attack Baltimore City's power grid last year is now facing a new federal charge.

Sarah Beth Clendaniel, of Catonsville, was charged with possession of a firearm even though she was prohibited from doing so, WJZ's media partner the Baltimore Banner reports. 

The new charge accuses Clendaniel of illegally possessing a 12-gauge shotgun despite her spending more than a year in prison.

In February of 2023, Clendaniel was indicted on charges related to conspiring with a neo-Nazi leader from Florida to attack several substations in the Baltimore area.

She was allegedly recorded telling an FBI informant that she planned to shoot substations in Norrisville, Reisterstown, Perry Hall, and Baltimore City. The FBI also obtained a "manifesto" by Clendaniel that allegedly references Adolf Hitler and Unabomber Ted Kaczynski. 

When WJZ spoke to her mother last year, she told us that she developed heavy neo-Nazi beliefs while she was in jail for machete-armed robberies in Cecil County. Her time behind bars is when she met Brandon Russell, who co-founded a neo-Nazi cell in Florida.  

Clendaniel told the FBI informant she was expected to live only for a few more months because she was diagnosed with a terminal illness involving kidney failure. She faces up to 20 years in prison for the conspiracy charges.

The trial for Clendaniel and Russell is set to begin on July 8 in the U.S. District Court.