Two former Marines were sentenced on Friday, July 26, for planning to target and destroy power grid substations. They were part of a group of five men, including two other former service members, who planned on carrying out a series of terror attacks in the name of white supremacist and Neo Nazi ideology.
Liam Collins, who previously served with 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role. Justin Hermansan received a one year, nine month sentence for conspiring to make and ship firearms over state lines. Both are 25. The two were separated from the Marine Corps in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Collins was kicked out after it was discovered that he ran a Neo Nazi message board.
A third member of the group, Paul Kryscuk, was also sentenced on Friday. Kryscuk, 38, had not been in the military; he was sentenced to six and a half years in prison.
According to prosecutors, the men were part of a group of five people that planned on attacking an electrical substation with assault rifles. Kryscuk manufactured unregistered firearms while Collins stole ammunition magazines from the military to ship to the others. The group planned on attacking multiple power grid sites to sow chaos. All were motivated by white supremacist and Neo Nazi ideology.
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Collins and Kryscuk met on the now-defunct Iron March Neo-Nazi forum and began recruiting the other three members. The plot was uncovered in 2020 and the members of the group were indicted. Initially the case focused on just the weapons, but grew once investigators learned of the wider terrorism plot.
“As part a self-described ‘modern day SS,’ these defendants conspired, prepared, and trained to attack America’s power grid in order to advance their violent white supremacist ideology,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in the Justice Department’s announcement. “These sentences reflect both the depravity of their plot and the Justice Department’s commitment to holding accountable those who seek to use violence to undermine our democracy.”
Alongside planning their attacks on the power grid, the group trained near Boise, Idaho and among other actions recorded propaganda videos of themselves that included Neo-Nazi symbols and the “sieg heil” salute.
Collins had joined the Marine Corps in 2017. Prosecutors had argued that he did so in order to gain military experience to help further his Neo Nazi goals. The Marine Corps discovered his membership on Iron March in 2019, and he was separated from the military the next year. Collins also had maintained a hit list of potential targets. It included national security and military reporter Jim LaPorta.
Attacks on the American power grid have become a popular tactic among far-right extremist groups. Prosecutors noted that this group looked at past attacks as an example. Additionally, Neo Nazi and other extremist organizations often try to recruit members of the military and veterans, or occasionally have members enlist to gain combat skills to be used in terrorism plots.
A fourth member, Joseph Maurino, had been a member of the New Jersey Army National Guard. He was previously convicted for his role in the plot. Last month, the fifth member of the group pleaded guilty. Jordan Duncan, 29, another former Marine who left the Corps in 2017, had been charged with aiding and abetting the manufacturing of the group’s weapons. Maurino and Duncan are awaiting sentencing.
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