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A man ‘devoted to white supremacist beliefs’ faces federal charges in an alleged plot to use an explosives-laden drone to blow up a Nashville energy facility “in support of his accelerationist ideology,” a federal criminal complaint filed this week says.

Accelerationism “refers to a white-supremacy belief that the existing state of society is irreparable and that the only solution is the destruction and collapse of the ‘system,'” the complaint continues.

It is based on the idea that steps can be taken to hasten the collapse of the system, meaning the destruction of the US electrical grid, among other acts of violence.

After his arrest Saturday in Nashville, Skyler Philippi, 24, was charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted destruction of an energy facility, the U.S. Department of Justice said. He is being held without bail and is due back in court on Wednesday. His lawyer told CNN he could not comment on the case.

The alleged Philippi plot, which could have left thousands without power three days before US presidential electionis far from the first time America’s power grid has been seen in recent years as a target of extremistsincluding those dedicated to accelerationism.

Electric utilities “have always taken substation security seriously,” said Patrick C. Miller, CEO of Oregon-based utility security consultancy Ampyx Cyber. CNN said in 2023.

“I think we’ll continue to see that as a threat, but the dynamics can change a little bit at a time change of administration (presidential).“, he added this week. “Historically, perceived or real differences with the administration tend to drive extremist activity, and I expect this will get more fuel.”

Here’s what you need to know about the accelerationist ideology:

Accelerationism “is the belief that society has gone so wrong that it must be burned to the ground so that people can have a fresh start.” expert and author in extremism JM Berger told CNN this week.

“Not everyone who uses accelerationist concepts will use that word to refer to themselves,” he explained, adding that some adopt the theory loosely and often don’t plan accelerationist-motivated activities in any coordinated way.

“Accelerationism is an idea,” Berger said, “not an organization.”

Although accelerationist ideas can be found across the political spectrum, the ideology is most popular now in right-wing and white supremacist circles, Berger said.

“Fueled by the perception that the future of the white race is bleak, these white supremacists believe they must use any means necessary to hasten the collapse of the current system,” Anti-Defamation League talk about accelerationism. “Solutions to bring down the system range from the most extreme form, violence, to deliberate political engagement that supports destructive and divisive societal elements.”

Adherents of accelerationism believe that triggering a series of reactions—including those that may threaten the “white race”—can encourage and motivate other white supremacists, anti-hate said the group.

And while the ADL says elements of the principles of accelerationism can be traced back to Marxism, “the widespread use of the term is relatively recent, in the last 10 to 20 years,” Berger told CNN.

Ideology is often a popular topic in private chat rooms frequented by white supremacist groups, neo-Nazis, including The basewhich is a survival and self-defense network, the the group’s leader told CNN in 2020and is described as a neo-Nazi militant group by ADL and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The rhetoric of accelerationism was also embraced in Fascist Forge, an online hate forum now removed from the internet, where users were discussing the “optimal” type of violent action and what steps to take to hasten the “final collapse”, ADL say.

Meanwhile, attacks on the US power grid have been the target of discussion by extremist groups, with an increase in 2020in the same year, a 14-page guide to low-tech attacks – including weapons – circulated on extremist communication channels.

“Power grids are attractive because they are fairly soft targets that can affect a large number of people,” Berger said. “Some extremists are also targeting power plants as rehearsals for a guerrilla war at a later date.”

There were 13 “real physical attacks” reported last year on US electrical facilities, with 25 reported in 2022, according to the Department of Energyhis stats.

“(i)f you want to do the most damage as an accelerationist, attack the big economic, high-tax, political areas in every major metropolis,” the defendant in the alleged Tennessee plot texted a July text message to a confidential source, according to the criminal. complaint filed this week.

Philippi later told an undercover agent that he believed “attacking power grids across the country … will bring down the power grid of the United States,” the complaint states.

Philippi had studied previous gun attacks by accelerationists in North Carolina and California, he later told two undercover agents and concluded that “attacking electrical substations with rifles will not cripple the substations,” the complaint says.

For utility operators, “what wasn’t considered as much, until recently, were the firearms, ballistics, drones and other threats outside the station fence,” Miller, the security consultant, said in 2023, adding that “some planning and investment is needed to move to a more secure position.”

A November 2022 Department of Homeland Security bulletin warned of threats by extremist groups to “create civil disorder and inspire further violence”. Days later, shots fired at two electrical substations in North Carolina left about 45,000 homes and businesses without power.

Although the motive remains unknown, the attacks may have been the work of domestic extremists who openly advocated targeting a vulnerable power system, said the experts at the time. No arrests have been made in the case and the investigation is ongoing, Chief Deputy Andy Conway of the Moore County Sheriff’s Office told CNN this week.

The Charlotte FBI office continues to investigate alongside the sheriff’s department and has no public updates, he told CNN this week.