In November 2024, Skyler Philippi was arrested and charged with allegedly conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction in a neo-Nazi-inspired plot to destroy an energy facility near Nashville.

More than a year later, the 24-year-old Tennessee man pleaded guilty, admitting that he planned to plant a bomb in a drone and crash it into a power facility.

For months, Philippi planned what he hoped would be a devastating attack on Nashville's energy infrastructure. He acquired what he believed to be explosives, surveyed his target, and equipped a drone to attack an electrical substation. Motivated by a violent ideology, Philippi wanted to “do something big.”

Despite this, the FBI thwarted his plans, and Philippi now awaits sentencing,” said Assistant Attorney General for Homeland Security John A. Eisenberg. “The Homeland Security Division and the FBI will continue to protect our nation’s critical infrastructure from potential saboteurs.”

According to the investigation, the suspect allegedly told a confidential FBI source that he wanted to carry out a mass shooting at a YMCA facility in Columbia, south of Nashville, but later that year decided that would not be enough to accomplish his goal.

“If you want to cause the most damage, attack the high-economic, high-tax, high-political areas in every major metropolis,” Philippi wrote, according to court documents.

Philippi showed an undercover agent portions of his manifesto, which stated that “radical armed struggle is the only end in protecting and preserving our people,” leading authorities to stop him.

“Our office is fully committed to preventing dangerous hate-motivated attacks,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Robert E. McGuire for the Middle District of Tennessee. “I commend the officers who investigated this conduct and prevented this attack from victimizing our community.”I commend the prosecutors who held the defendant accountable for his horrific actions.”

“Skyler Philippi plotted to attack a power plant with an explosive-laden drone, potentially knocking out power to thousands of American homes and critical facilities like hospitals,” said Assistant Director Donald Holstead of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. “Through a rigorous investigation, his plan was foiled. Protecting our communities from public safety threats is a top priority for the FBI, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who attempt to damage critical infrastructure and threaten our national security.”

Sentencing is scheduled for January 8, 2026. Philippi faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.