A founder of a neo-Nazi group was found guilty on Monday of plotting to attack electrical substations in Maryland with the goal of creating a failure in the power grid that would plunge Baltimore into chaos.

Brandon Russell, 29, of Orlando, Florida, founder of the Atomwaffen Division, was convicted in U.S. District Court in Baltimore of one count of conspiracy to damage an energy facility.

The jury deliberated for less than one hour.

“Hate-fueled violence has no place in a civilized society,” Maryland U.S. Attorney Erek Barron said outside the Edward A. Garmatz U.S. Courthouse Monday night. “Brandon Russell went well beyond his First Amendment rights, orchestrating a terrorist plot that would’ve harmed thousands of innocent people.”

The verdict “reinforces that we will not tolerate those who target our communities with violence and their hate-filled beliefs,” said William DelBagno, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office.

Russell conspired with Sarah Beth Clendaniel to carry out the attack, which they believed would lead to a “cascading failure” that in her words would “probably permanently completely lay this city to waste.”

Clendaniel, 36, of Catonsville, pleaded guilty in 2024 to conspiracy to damage an energy facility and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

The verdict came two years after law enforcement arrested them and foiled the plot.

In his closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Baldwin said though there was no evidence that Russell planned to travel to Maryland, he was acting as an adviser.

Russell, he said, tried to help Clendaniel acquire a rifle to destroy the substations, took part in the selection of targets and engaged in efforts to keep the plan secret.

Baldwin likened the situation to a colonel who’s 10 miles behind the front lines or a general stationed at the Pentagon.

“The defendant is directing traffic,” Baldwin said. “He’s assisting in the conspiracy.”

Baldwin prosecuted the case with Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Aubin.

But Ian Goldstein, Russell’s attorney, said his client never agreed to do anything, including participate in the attack.

Clendaniel, he said, was under the misguided belief that she had few months left to live. She wanted to attack critical infrastructure as one final act to be remembered.

“We’re here today because the government wanted to get Brandon Russell,” Goldstein said in his closing argument. “Public Enemy No. 1.”

When the government realized that Clendaniel was connected to Russell, investigators thought they “struck gold,” Goldstein said.

Law enforcement, he said, then sent a confidential informant back to his client to pump him for information and draw out incriminating statements.

Instead of a co-conspirator, Goldstein said, his client was a cheerleader. He passed along publicly available information.

Goldstein said there was not a “scintilla of evidence” that his client planned to participate in the attack.

U.S. Senior District Judge James K. Bredar presided over the trial and scheduled a phone conference for Tuesday to select a date for sentencing.

Russell is being held at the Chesapeake Detention Facility. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.