DHS warns right-wing extremists could attack power grids

Domestic violent extremists and racially motivated extremists in the United States have been developing plans to attack the US electricity sector, according to an intelligence release from the Department of Security. Homeland Security was released this week and was obtained by The Daily Beast.

“DVEs have been developing concrete, credible plans to attack electrical infrastructure since at least 2020, identifying the power grid as a particularly attractive target due to its interdependence. with other infrastructure sectors,” the warning said.

The DHS Office of Analysis and Intelligence issued a warning to the electricity sector on Monday, after utilities asked to check for increased threats from violent extremists in the country. in 2020 and 2021.

The warning comes as DHS and federal investigators strain to keep up with the threat posed by violent extremists in the country and continue to work to bring charges against those involved. January 6 uprising. DHS Office of Analysis and Intelligence chief John Cohen told lawmakers in recent testimony that, nearly a year after the Capitol Hill riots, the threat posed by violent extremists in the country “is one of the most complex, volatile and dynamic things I” have experienced in my career. “

According to Cohen, DHS has made efforts to share intelligence on violent extremism in the country with the private sector and state and local partners. Over the past year and a half, the FBI has ramped up resources for domestic terrorism investigations. According to FBI Director Christopher Wray, the FBI has more than doubled the number of domestic terrorism cases since spring 2020.

White supremacists expressed interest in “devastated” on the grid if President Donald Trump loses his re-election in 2020. And last year, four men had ties to racial motives The extremists were charged with conspiring to damage the property of an energy facility in the United States, after using an assault-style rifle in an attempt to blow up an electrical substation.

DHS intelligence suggests that violent extremists in the country will continue to plot attacks on electrical infrastructure in the United States that “could result in physical damage.” Conversations from domestic violence extremists online in recent months have focused on encouraging lone wolf attacks, as well as efforts to inspire individuals with little or no trained to follow electrical infrastructure — including firearms, improvised incendiary devices, hammers and electric saws.