Three U.S. men plead guilty to domestic terrorism crimes linked to planned attack on national power grid

The Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that three American men have pleaded guilty to crimes related to a plot to attack the US power grid in 2019.

Christopher Brenner Cook, 20, of Columbus, Ohio; Jonathan Allen Frost, 24, of Katy, Texas and of West Lafayette, Indiana; and Jackson Matthew Sawall, 22, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, all pleaded guilty to the crime of providing material support to terrorists.

According to the DoJ, The three men met in an online chat group in 2019 and began plotting to simultaneously shoot at the national power grid at several substations located around the country in order to shut down the US in the name of white supremacy.

“The defendants in this case wanted to attack regional power substations and expected the damage would lead to economic distress and civil unrest,” said Assistant Director Timothy Langan of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division.

“These individuals wanted to carry out such a plot because of their adherence to racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist views. When individuals move from espousing particular views to planning or committing acts of violence the FBI will investigate and take action to stop their plans. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect our communities.”