An undercover FBI agent’s work led to the Wednesday arrest of Andrew Takhistov, an 18-year-old who promoted white supremacist and violent ideologies online and sought to destroy a U.S. electrical substation. In a press release on Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that Takhistov was arrested for allegedly soliciting another individual, an undercover special agent, to destroy a Public Service Enterprise Group energy facility “in order to advance his white supremacist ideology.” Takhistov was arrested at Newark Liberty Airport on Wednesday and made his first court appearance on Thursday. He is currently detained. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a $125,000 fine, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The criminal complaint filed in the United States District Court in New Jersey showed that Takhistov used online messaging platforms “to communicate on racially/ethnically motivated (‘RMVE’)-aligned channels.” His posts, some of which are included in the complaint, “referenced Adolf Hitler, encouraged violence against Black and Jewish communities, praised mass shooters, and discussed causing death and destruction on a large scale,” said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey. Takhistov also often asked for advice about weapons and disseminated manuals on how to build homemade weapons on the online platform, according to the filing. Takhistov began communicating with the agent, not knowing they were an FBI agent, back in January. By July, they had met in person several times. He had discussed “infrastructure sabotage,” with specifics in mind, including how to leverage a pedestrian bridge with Mylar balloons, the complaint said. Takhistov had also talked more broadly about “different strategies for terrorist attacks, including rocket and explosives attacks against synagogues.” During a late-May in person meeting, Takhistov told the FBI agent that in July, he was going to Ukraine to join the Russian Volunteer Corps, a paramilitary group of primarily Russian citizens with “conservative views and traditional beliefs,” according to the group’s website. The combat forces oppose Russian President Vladimir Putin and his 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
via newsweek: Undercover Agent Busts White Supremacist Plot to Blow Up Facilities: DOJ
siehe auch: 18-year-old arrested in white supremacist plot targeting New Jersey power grid. An 18-year-old New Jersey man allegedly en route to join a paramilitary force in Ukraine was arrested at an airport this week after sharing his plan with an undercover law enforcement operative to destroy an electrical substation as part of his white supremacist ideology, according to federal prosecutors. Andrew Takhistov instructed the officer to destroy a New Jersey energy facility with Molotov cocktails while he was overseas, detailing how to evade surveillance cameras, discreet parking locations, and escape plans, according to federal court papers. He also spent months discussing steps to achieve “white domination” and encouraged violence against ethnic and religious minorities, court filings said. Takhistov was allegedly planning to travel to Ukraine to join the Russian Volunteer Corps, a Russian militia fighting for Ukraine.