Prosecutors say Brandon Russell was the leader of a neo-Nazi group who orchestrated a plot to knock out power to the city of Baltimore to sow social chaos.

Brandon Russell, 29, encouraged his then-girlfriend, Sarah Beth Clendaniel, to carry out the power grid attack, hoping to cause chaos in furtherance of their shared white supremacist views, according to prosecutors. The two were arrested in February 2023 — before their plans were executed.

On the third day of testimony, the jury heard phone conversations between a confidential informant, and Brandon Russel, who is accused of planning attacks against electrical substations in the Baltimore region along with co-conspirator Sarah Beth Clendaniel.