A New Jersey man with suspected white supremacist views was arrested earlier this month for allegedly plotting an attack on an electrical substation.
The Justice Department said in a press release that 18-year-old Andrew Takhistov was arrested on July 11 at Newark’s Liberty International Airport on his way to Ukraine where he planned to join the Russian Volunteer Corps, a military unit of the Ukraine Armed Forces made up of Russian citizens.
According to the criminal complaint, the East Brunswick resident began discussing a plan to attack a substation with another man who happened to be an undercover FBI agent.
During their conversations, which began in January, Takhistov detailed how to make Molotov cocktails and what kind of clothing to wear. The two men visited two substations in New Brunswick and North Brunswick where Takhistov provided information on where they should park a vehicle to avoid detection.
In their discussions, Takhistov also discussed various strategies for launching other terrorist attacks, including using explosives or rockets to attack synagogues. He also suggested that he could smuggle weaponry and supplies out of Ukraine to use in attacks on the United States.
According to US Attorney Philip Sellinger of the District of New Jersey, in his conversations with the undercover agent, Takhistov espoused white supremacist views. He also had a history of social media posts in which he “encouraged violence” against blacks and Jews, and discussed large-scale attacks that would cause maximum “death and destruction.”
During a meeting with the undercover agent last month, Takhistov outlined a “three-step plan” that he claimed would bring about “white domination.” The plan included defeating Russia in Ukraine, invading Russia, and engaging in “political activism” in support of “National Socialist political parties” in the United States and Europe, according to the complaint.
Takhistov explained that people did not want protests or rallies. Instead, they were waiting for something big like the Oklahoma City bombing. He told the undercover agent, that his “ultimate dream” was staging a “Hamas-style” rocket attack on a synagogue.
Takhistov is charged with soliciting another person to engage in criminal conduct involving the destruction of a substation.
If convicted, Takhistov faces a maximum sentence of 10 years and a $125,000 fine.
