FBI Arrests Man for Plotting to Bomb Data Center, Cause Huge Internet Outage

He wanted to “kill about 70% of the internet.”

Thwarted Plot

The FBI has arrested a man for allegedly planning to bomb a data center outside of Washington DC. 

Seth Aron Pendley, 28, was taken into custody on Thursday after he allegedly attempted to acquire supplies to make explosives from a person who was actually an FBI agent, according to The Washington Post. He planned to detonate a bomb at an Amazon Web Services center in Ashburn, Virginia. 

After investigating him further, authorities discovered Pendley had also bragged online about being at the US Capitol during the January 6 insurrection but said he didn’t enter the building. 

See Something, Say Something

Pendley came to the attention of the FBI after he made some suspicious posts on MyMilitia.com — which is disappointingly not a dating website for militia members but rather a website for militia news and forums. 

Under the screen name "Dionysus," Pendley posted that he was going to "conduct a little experiment" that he hoped would result in death, according to a statement from the Department of Justice. An anonymous user saw the posts and alerted authorities to the potential danger. 

"We are indebted to the concerned citizen who came forward to report the defendant’s alarming online rhetoric," said Prerak Shah, the acting US Attorney, in the statement. "In flagging his posts to the FBI, this individual may have saved the lives of a number of tech workers."

Killing The Internet

Authorities say that Pendley had used the encrypted messaging app Signal to communicate his plans to use C-4 plastic explosives to attack the data center with an anonymous source, according to the statement. The source later told the FBI that Pendley wanted to "kill about 70 percent of the internet."

Pendley is now under arrest by the bureau and awaiting trial. If convicted, he’s looking at up to 20 years in prison. 

You know it’s bad when being at the Jan 6th insurrection somehow isn’t the worst thing they have on you. 

READ MORE: FBI says man who claimed to be at Capitol riot wanted to bomb data center near D.C. [The Washington Post]