A woman from Maryland with a history of holding white supremacist beliefs for many years and collaborating with a neo-Nazi leader to orchestrate an attack on Baltimore’s power grid has been sentenced to 18 years in prison. Sarah Beth Clendaniel, 36, admitted to planning the attack in May, in alliance with Brandon Russell, who co-founded a neo-Nazi group in Florida. They intended to carry out sniper attacks on electric substations in Maryland to cause significant damage to the power grid and instigate chaos in the predominantly Black city.
During her sentencing hearing in a federal court in Baltimore, Clendaniel acknowledged her ongoing National Socialist beliefs which she adopted at a young age. She expressed remorse and vowed to refrain from acting upon those beliefs in the future. Despite U.S. District Judge James Bredar expressing doubts about Clendaniel’s willingness to carry out the plot, he sentenced her to 18 years in federal prison as requested by prosecutors, with lifelong supervision following her release.
The court learned that Clendaniel had engaged in jail calls with a white supremacist leader in California, indicating her continued adherence to such ideologies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen O’Connell Gavin highlighted Clendaniel’s unrepentant and persistent behavior during the hearing. Clendaniel had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to damage electrical facilities and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The sentencing hearing delved into Clendaniel’s turbulent past, marked by severe domestic abuse, neglect, and early addiction issues. Raised in rural Cecil County, Maryland, where she committed robberies during drug use, Clendaniel faced challenges that left her vulnerable to extremist influences like Russell. Her defense attorney, Sedira Banan, emphasized her history of holding racist views without acting on them until recently.
In a letter to the court before her sentencing, Clendaniel attributed her actions to severe mental and physical health problems, including kidney failure, and a desire to make amends for her troubled past. She expressed regret for her involvement in the plot and her struggles with addiction upon her release from prison in 2020. Clendaniel’s case shed light on the cycle of addiction, trauma, and vulnerability to extremist ideologies, underscoring the need for addressing underlying issues that lead individuals down destructive paths.