Andrew Takhistov, 18, of East Brunswick, NJ, was charged with one count of soliciting another individual to engage in criminal conduct that involved destroying a Public Service Enterprise Group (PSE&G) circuit breaker and substation.
— Crime In NYC (@CrimeInNYC) July 13, 2024
Takhistov was arrested on July 10, appeared… pic.twitter.com/algW3uiBZ9
Takhistov was arrested on July 10, appeared Thursday in Newark federal court, and was detained.
According to court documents and statements:
In January 2024, Takhistov began communicating on a social messaging platform with an individual who, unbeknownst to Takhistov, was an undercover law enforcement employee. Takhistov had previously posted on the messaging platform, requesting advice about weapons, disseminating manuals on how to construct homemade weapons, and expressing interest in traveling overseas to engage in paramilitary-style training.
Throughout these posts, Takhistov referenced Adolf Hitler, encouraged violence against various ethnic and religious communities (including Black and Jewish individuals), and praised mass shooters.
Throughout Takhistov’s communications with the undercover employee, Takhistov repeatedly referred to his ideology and his desire to advance that ideology through violent means. In May 2024, Takhistov informed the undercover employee that he was planning to travel to Ukraine in July 2024 to join the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), explaining that he chose this organization because it was openly National Socialist and, more importantly, specialized in assassinations, attacks on power grids, and other infrastructure sabotage...
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