Fifth and final man pleads guilty in neo-Nazi group’s plot to attack Idaho power grid
The last man connected to a group that was concocting plans to take down the power grid in Idaho and other states has pleaded guilty.
Court records show that Jordan Duncan, 29, of Boise, pleaded guilty in North Carolina to aiding and abetting the manufacturing of a firearm in the wide-ranging case. He could face up to 10 years in federal prison for the crime.
Four other men involved — Paul Kryscuk, 35, Liam Collins, 21, Justin Hermanson, 25, and Joseph Maurino, 22 — have already pleaded guilty to various crimes related to their power grid plot, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Collins and Duncan moved to Boise to be near resident Kryscuk, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors said the men began organizing a Northwest U.S. “modern-day SS” — referencing the Nazi Party’s paramilitary group known for its brutal behavior — through a now-defunct neo-Nazi message board known as Iron March.
Evidence showed the group planned to use assault-style rifles to cause explosions at power substations in Idaho and nearby states, according to prosecutors.
Duncan and the others “researched, discussed and reviewed at length a previous attack on the power grid by an unknown group,” the Justice Department said in a release.
Each man had specific duties within the group, according to the indictment. The role of Duncan, a former U.S. Marine, involved information gathering.
“Duncan gathered a library of information, some military-owned, regarding firearms, explosives, and nerve toxins, and shared that information with Kryscuk and Collins,” the Justice Department said.
Federal officials said law enforcement found a handwritten list in Kryscuk’s possession in October 2020 of places in Idaho and surrounding states with transformers, substations or other related spots.
Video footage entered into evidence also showed the group conducting training in the desert near Boise, including a live-fire exercise.
“The end of the propaganda video shows the four participants outfitted in AtomWaffen masks giving the ‘Heil Hitler’ sign, beneath the image of a black sun, a Nazi symbol,” the department said. “The last frame bears the phrase, ‘Come home white man.’”
Kryscuk pleaded guilty to conspiracy to destroy an energy facility in February 2022; Collins pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the interstate transportation of unregistered firearms in October 2023; Hermanson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture firearms and ship them interstate in March 2023; and Maurino pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture firearms and ship them interstate in April 2023.
All five men will be sentenced soon, according to the Justice Department.
