A 24-year-old Tennessee man admitted Tuesday to plotting a drone attack on Nashville�s power infrastructure, a case that federal officials say underscores the rising domestic threat to U.S. critical infrastructure.

Skyler Philippi of Columbia, Tenn., pleaded guilty to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to destroy an energy facility, according to the Justice Department. He faces a potential life sentence when he appears before a federal judge in January.

For months, Philippi laid out a plan that prosecutors say was as elaborate as it was chilling: building or modifying a drone, strapping it with high-grade explosives like C-4 or TATP, and flying it directly into an electrical substation to trigger a chain reaction capable of shutting down power to homes, businesses, and hospitals.

Philippi�s case has raised red flags in national security circles for its mix of violent extremist ideology, technical ambition, and symbolic targeting. He told undercover FBI agents he had drafted a �manifesto,� trafficked in antisemitic rhetoric, and aligned himself with neo-Nazi groups such as Atomwaffen Division and the National Alliance.

Court filings detail reconnaissance trips to a substation, online research into prior grid attacks, and the purchase of explosive components. At one point, according to the DOJ, he texted an informant: �If you want to do the most damage as an accelerationist, attack high economic, high tax, political zones in every major metropolis.�

Philippi was arrested last November after meeting undercover operatives in a Nashville hotel for what he described as a �New Age� ritual invoking the Norse god Odin. Prosecutors say he was preparing to attach explosives to a drone when agents moved in.

Senior national security officials framed the case as a stark reminder of both the vulnerabilities of America�s energy system and the persistence of accelerationist movements intent on exploiting them.

�Philippi planned to attack an energy facility with a drone containing explosives, which had the potential to knock out power to thousands of American homes and to critical facilities like hospitals,� said Donald Holstead, the FBI�s counterterrorism chief. �Protecting our communities from threats to public safety is a priority for the FBI.�

The attempted attack also highlights a broader trend: domestic extremists looking to move beyond firearms to weaponized drones and explosives, a shift that worries counterterrorism officials already grappling with a patchwork national power grid and an evolving threat landscape.

Philippi will be sentenced on Jan. 8, 2026.

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