Tennessee man pleads guilty to plotting drone attack on Nashville energy facility

A Tennessee man has pleaded guilty to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and plotting to destroy an energy facility in Nashville with a drone packed with explosives, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

Skyler Philippi, 24, of Columbia, admitted in court that he planned to attack an electrical substation with a drone carrying explosives. Prosecutors said he conducted surveillance of the target, researched past substation attacks, and obtained what he believed to be C-4 explosives.

Philippi was arrested in November 2024 after FBI undercover employees provided him with inert materials. According to court documents, Philippi had earlier spoken to confidential sources about committing a mass shooting at a YMCA and about targeting substations to cause widespread blackouts.

Court documents show Philippi also spoke about his past involvement with Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi organization linked to violent plots in the U.S., and the National Alliance, a longstanding white supremacist group. Investigators said his writings reflected an accelerationist ideology aimed at destabilizing society through acts of mass violence.

On Nov. 2, 2024, Philippi traveled with undercover employees to the site of the planned attack. He was arrested with a drone and an armed device next to him, prepared to be attached to the aircraft.

“For months, Philippi planned what he had hoped would be a devastating attack on Nashville’s energy infrastructure,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “Motivated by a violent ideology, Philippi wanted ‘to do something big.’ Instead, the FBI disrupted his plans.”

“Skyler Philippi planned to attack an energy facility with a drone containing explosives, which had the potential to knock out power to thousands of American homes and to critical facilities like hospitals,” said Donald Holstead, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division.

Philippi is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 8, 2026. He faces up to life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.