A Wichita Falls man was arrested on Thursday, April 8, after the FBI uncovered a plot to blow up a data center in Virginia.
Seth Aaron Pendley, 28, was taken into custody after he allegedly tried to buy explosives from an undercover FBI employee in Fort Worth, the Department of Justice announced in a release.
An investigation into Pendley started in January when a "concerned citizen" contacted the FBI about statements the suspect made on an online forum dedicated to forming militia groups. A user believed to be Pendley posted that he wanted to “conduct a little experiment" that he said would “draw a lot of heat” and could be “dangerous," according to the DOJ.
A confidential source also told the FBI the suspect planned to use C4 plastic explosives to blow up a tech company's data centers in an attempt to “kill of about 70% of the internet.”
The source later introduced Pendley to an uncover agent who he thought would give him explosives.
The suspect allegedly told the agent that he wanted to bring down the web servers using by the FBI, CIA, and other federal agencies to bring down the federal government.
The FBI arrested Pendley after he met up with the undercover agent to pick up what he believed to be explosives. Pendley was charged with malicious attempt to destroy a building with an explosive and now faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
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