On December 4, power substations in Moore County, North Carolina were intentionally sabotaged, leaving over 45,000 customers without power, which then spurred looting and caused numerous car accidents across the county. The substations were shot at with a firearm, and the extensive damage will take a significant time to repair, with some customers estimated to be without power for up to four days.
While no motive or perpetrator has officially been established, and the investigation is ongoing, domestic extremists have been promoting the targeting of electrical infrastructure for years. Accelerationists, eco-fascists, neo-Nazis and white supremacists have explicitly called for the use of firearms to target substations and have spoken extensively about the ease with which critical infrastructure could be taken down in the United States. They have also discussed the serious damage targeting them can cause, claiming it may hasten a social system collapse.
In the past few years many extremist accounts on social media have shared detailed instructions on how best to target electrical, gas, or water infrastructure in order to disrupt supplies and sow civil panic or discord. Accelerationists and eco-fascists in particular have shared maps of vulnerable or critical substations and have called for lone snipers to target transformers from outside the fences, as seems to have been the case in the Moore County attack.
Since the Moore County attack the targeting of infrastructure has only increased, with many extremist groups and individuals taking inspiration from the events of December 4 and planning or executing their own assaults on critical electrical infrastructure targets. A Politico investigation found that such attacks reached an all time peak in 2022, with the Moore County attack being the most successful and impactful event. Another high profile attack was carried out in Tacoma, Washington, on December 25, when four substations were broken into and vandalized, causing widespread power outages across Pierce County.
This updated report also covers reactions by neo-Nazis to the Tacoma, Washington area, with these extremists praising the attacks and calling for the perpetrators to release a statement claiming responsibility.
The following updated report is an overview of neo-Nazis and accelerationists promoting the sabotage of vital infrastructure on social media over the past 12 months and reactions to the Tacoma attacks.
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Neo-Nazis And Accelerationists Promote Targeting Vital Infrastructure
On Telegram, an accelerationist neo-Nazi channel forwarded a post encouraging followers to carry out attacks on power stations, railways, and various businesses. The channel wrote: "No matter how bad it gets, as long as the modern man has his TV and his paycheck things will never change. Therefore the only solution is to take these things from him. [REDACT] your local power substation. [REDACT] your local railway. [REDACT] your local amazon center. [REDACT] your local grocery store."
An accelerationist neo-Nazi channel forwarded an edited video showing two men firing their rifles from a moving car at what they said was a water plant. One of the men says to the other "I'm gonna hit this waterplant"; the other responds "After this right tower here." Gunshots can then be heard. The video concludes with the text "Kill Infrastructure." It features subtitles in both English and Russian.
On Instagram, a user who has been corresponding with Unabomber Ted Kaszynski for several years posted a series of graphics which encourage saboteurs to take out electric-transmission stations. The first graphic states: "The U.S. could suffer a coast-to-coast blackout if saboteurs knocked out just nine of the country's 55,000 electric-transmission substations." The user added: "I sincerely hope that something like this never ever happens y'all. So scary how fragile our grid is." Another graphic in this post states: "Many sites aren't stagged and are protected by little more than chain-link fences and cameras…" Another graphic says: "Such a blackout would not be an easy fix. Take down nine substations and a transformer manufacturer, and the grid goes down for up to 18 months." One graphic explains that such an action would "provide a glut of possibilities for an anti-tech revolution…"
Accelerationists Release Manuals Providing Tips On Committing Acts Of Sabotage
The user also wrote on Instagram that in the upcoming issue of a Ted Kaczynski-inspired magazine, "the full and accurate list of the most critical substations" will be published.
Neo-Nazis Blame Jews For Tacoma Substation Attacks, Praise Attacks And Call For Perpetrators To Release A Statement Claiming Responsibility
On December 25 four power stations in the Tacoma, Washington area were damaged, vandalized, and burglarized by unknown individuals. One power station was set on fire and extensively damaged. The attacks to the substations led to thousands of residents losing power. It is still unclear what the motives for the attacks were and if the four different attacks were carried out by the same individual or group of individuals.
Online neo-Nazis reacted to the attacks, the latest in a series of power station attacks in the last few weeks. Some claimed that the attacks were “false flag” carried out by Jews while others praised the attacks and suggested the perpetrators should reveal themselves for maximum “impact.”
An ultranationalist and antisemitic social media account posted about the attacks and blamed them on Jews writing “Must be Kazarian Mafia [Jews] operatives sabotaging the power grid in order to bring on chaos. Who else would want to inflict this kind of damage, for what reason??
The leader of a neo-Nazi terrorist group posted an article about recent attacks on the power grid in the Pacific Northwest. He praised the attacks and said that the perpetrators should identify themselves and present demands to the authorities. He wrote: "I must admit, whoever is doing this has cracked the code on lone wolf attacks. The only missing piece is a lack of attribution and accompanying demands…. The purpose of claiming responsibility is to make demands. The perps have the authorities by the balls...So now what? What's the point? Plus, the damage being done to the grid is easily repairable (expensive, yes, but repairable). You need demands. You need to give the System a way out of this embarrassing political situation in exchange for some concession(s). What are your demands? If you have none, as impressive as this streak has been, it will go nowhere ultimately."
Neo-Nazis Call For Attacking Electrical Substations, Electric Towers And Different Kinds Of Infrastructure, Share Tips On Carrying Out Attacks
Prior to the recent wave of attacks on substations neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other extremists have long discussed attacking the power grid. They have claimed that components of the electrical grid were vulnerable to attack, that such an attack could lead to widespread chaos and potential for more violence and that the perpetrators could conduct such an attack with little risk of capture. In addition to encouraging such attacks neo-Nazis have provided tips and instructions on how to target electrical substations.
In a neo-Nazi chat group, a user shared a post from another neo-Nazi accelerationist account. The post describes different parts of an electrical transformer and includes the caption “For educational purposes only of course Don't get any ideas.”
An eco-extremist and anti-tech group with members in the United States, Brazil and Europe have frequently discussed targeting infrastructure including electrical towers and substations. After a user said that he "might cut down some electrical towers" another user provided him with some advice. The user cautioned the original poster to be "careful" because it could "electrocute you." Instead, the user suggested the original poster use Styrofoam, gasoline, and fertilizer to take down electrical towers.
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