
Sarah Tew/CNET
A Texas man allegedly planning to bomb an Amazon data center in Virginia was arrested Thursday, according to the US Attorney for the Northern District of Texas as spotted earlier by NBC News. He will be charged for malicious attempt to destroy a building with an explosive in federal courts.
Seth Aaron Pendley attempted to purchase C-4 plastic explosives from an undercover FBI agent as part of a plan to blow up one of Amazon’s data centers, the FBI alleges. Pendley allegedly said he wanted to “kill of (sic) about 70% of the internet” and bring down the “oligarchy.” The Department of Justice says Pendley also bragged about being at the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
“We are indebted to the concerned citizen who came forward to report the defendant’s alarming online rhetoric. In flagging his posts to the FBI, this individual may have saved the lives of a number of tech workers,” said Acting US Attorney Prerak Shah. “We 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.”
Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.