Three individuals linked to white supremacist organizations have been sentenced in federal court for a plot to destroy a power grid in the northwestern United States, as reported by the U.S. Department of Justice. Paul James Kryscuk, 38; Liam Collins, 25; and Justin Wade Hermanson, 25, received their sentences for their involvement in a violent extremist scheme to target the power grid. Collins and Hermanson were part of the same Marine unit at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, during the planning phase as per a federal indictment.
Collins was sentenced to 10 years for aiding and abetting in the interstate transportation of unregistered firearms, Kryscuk received six and a half years for conspiracy to destroy an energy facility, and Hermanson was sentenced to one year and nine months for conspiracy to manufacture and ship firearms across state lines. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland highlighted the seriousness of their plot and the Department of Justice’s dedication to holding accountable those resorting to violence to undermine democracy.
Collins, who was active on a neo-Nazi internet forum in 2016, sought recruitment for a paramilitary group he likened to a “modern-day SS.” He mentioned on the forum that he joined the Marines “for the cause” and planned to contribute most of his earnings to fund the group. Collins and Kryscuk, both residing in New York at the time, connected in 2017 through the forum. Kryscuk discussed forming a guerrilla organization armed with rifles to reclaim what he believed was rightfully theirs.
The group expanded by recruiting members like Hermanson and intensely studied a past power substation attack executed by an unidentified group using assault rifles. Between 2017 and 2020, the group unlawfully produced and sold firearms, along with stealing military equipment. In 2020, they congregated in Boise, Idaho, for live-fire weapons training filmed with members engaging in shooting exercises while wearing skull masks linked to a neo-Nazi group.
Authorities discovered a handwritten note on Kryscuk containing around 12 locations in Idaho and other states where transformers, substations, or other components vital to the northwestern U.S.’s power grid were located. Arrest warrants were issued for Kryscuk and Collins in October 2020, followed by Hermanson’s warrant three days later. Kryscuk and Collins were apprehended on November 25, 2020, with Hermanson arrested several months later on January 28, 2021.
Kryscuk pleaded guilty in February 2022, while Collins and Hermanson entered their pleas in 2023, with another individual, Joseph Maurino, also pleading guilty to conspiracy to manufacture firearms and ship them between states in April 2023. The last defendant, Jordan Duncan, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting firearm manufacturing on June 24, 2023, according to the Justice Department.