Solar cell panels in the foreground, wind turbines in the middle ground, and electricity pylons in the background; unidentified location

Andrew Takhistov, 18, from East Brunswick, New Jersey, was arrested yesterday and appeared in court today for allegedly asking someone to destroy energy facilities.

“Andrew Takhistov was allegedly on his way to Ukraine to join the Russian Volunteer Corps when we arrested him on charges of recruiting an individual to destroy an electrical substation here in the United States in order to advance his white supremacist ideology,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “I am grateful to the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force for their exceptional work disrupting this dangerous plot.”

“This complaint alleges that the defendant’s posts referenced Adolf Hitler, encouraged violence against Black and Jewish communities, praised mass shooters, and discussed causing death and destruction on a large scale,” said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey. “The defendant was allegedly en route to join the Russian Volunteer Corps, which he described as specializing in assassinations, attacks on power grids, and other infrastructure sabotage so that he could act on his violent plans. We will not tolerate these kinds of alleged terroristic threats, and working with our partners, we will always be ready to root out and bring to justice anyone who attempts to carry out these acts.”

According to court documents, in January, Takhistov started communicating on a social messaging platform with someone who turned out to be an undercover law enforcement employee. Takhistov had previously posted on the platform, often in channels aligned with racially/ethnically motivated extremism (RMVE), asking for advice about weapons, sharing manuals on making homemade weapons, and expressing interest in traveling overseas for paramilitary training. In these posts, Takhistov mentioned Adolf Hitler, encouraged violence against various ethnic and religious groups (including Black and Jewish individuals), and praised mass shooters.

In his communications with the undercover employee, Takhistov repeatedly talked about his RMVE ideology and his desire to advance it through violence. In May, Takhistov told the undercover employee that he planned to travel to Ukraine in July to join the Russian Volunteer Corps, explaining that he chose this group because it was openly National Socialist and specialized in assassinations, attacks on power grids, and other infrastructure sabotage.

Takhistov discussed how to sabotage infrastructure, specifically how to damage an electrical substation using Mylar balloons or Molotov cocktails, which he explained how to make. Takhistov told the undercover employee that while he was in Ukraine, the undercover employee needed to carry out at least one serious act of activism.

In June and July, following Takhistov’s directions, he and the undercover employee visited two electrical substations in North Brunswick and New Brunswick, New Jersey. During these visits, Takhistov instructed the undercover employee on various aspects of attacking an electrical substation.

On July 5, during one of these meetings, Takhistov directed the undercover employee to take photos of the electrical substations so he could send them to his Russian friend for additional sabotage advice.

Takhistov was arrested Wednesday afternoon at Newark Liberty International Airport while planning to travel to Paris on his way to Ukraine.

Takhistov is charged with one count of soliciting someone to engage in criminal conduct that involved destroying a public service enterprise group circuit breaker and substation. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $125,000 fine.

Image Credits

In-Article Image Credits

Solar cell panels in the foreground, wind turbines in the middle ground, and electricity pylons in the background; unidentified location via Pixabay by Kenueone with usage type - Creative Commons License