A man accused of planning to bomb Amazon鈥檚 data centers in the United States to 鈥渒ill off about 70% of the internet鈥� has been arrested.
Police apprehended Seth Aaron Pendley, 28, after a concerned citizen, whose name was withheld, notified them of his plans early on, the US Department of Justice said in a release yesterday, April 9.
The informant on Jan. 8 first contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to tell them about a certain netizen called 鈥淒ionysus,鈥� who was posting alarming statements on MyMilita.com, a forum dedicated to organizing militia groups.
Dionysus reportedly posted about his plans to 鈥渃onduct a little experiment鈥� that would 鈥渄raw a lot of heat鈥� and could be 鈥渄angerous.鈥� After one user asked what his goal was, Dionysus responded 鈥渄eath.鈥�
Police then monitored the said user and after tracking his email address, they found out that it belonged to Pendley. They then looked at Pendley鈥檚 Facebook account and found out that he frequently posted about being part of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
In private messages obtained by the FBI, Pendly reportedly told his friends that while he was not actually able to enter the Capitol building, he managed to get a slice of glass from a broken window and interacted with police, according to the DOJ.
In late January, Pendley began using encrypted messaging app Signal to talk with another confidential source. This source then informed the FBI that he was planning to use C-4 plastic explosives to blow up Amazon鈥檚 data centers.
Pendley also told the source that he wanted to take down the web servers used by the FBI, CIA and other federal agencies. By doing so, he would be taking down 鈥渢he oligarchy鈥� in power in the US, Pendley told the source as per recorded conversations.
On March 31, the source introduced Pendley to an explosives supplier, who was actually an undercover FBI agent. Last Thursday, April 8, Pendley met with the agent in hopes of buying explosive devices.
The undercover agent also taught Pendley how to arm and detonate the explosives, which were actually inert devices. Pendley then stashed the explosives in his car and drove away, only to be monitored and arrested by the FBI.
鈥淲e are indebted to the concerned citizen who came forward to report the defendant鈥檚 alarming online rhetoric. In flagging his posts to the FBI, this individual may have saved the lives of a number of tech workers,鈥� acting US Attorney Prerak Shah said.
鈥淲e are also incredibly proud of our FBI partners, who ensured that the defendant was apprehended with an inert explosive device before he could inflict real harm. The Justice Department is determined to apprehend domestic extremists who intend to commit violence, no matter what political sentiment drives them to do so,鈥� he added.
The DOJ noted, however, that Pendley is still a defendant and is presumed innocent until proven guilty. He is currently charged with a malicious attempt to destroy a building with an explosive. If convicted, Pendley will face up to 20 years in prison.聽 /ra
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