Columbia, S.C. — A man was arrested by federal agents and charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction to destroy an energy facility serving the Nashville, Tennessee area. As he began the attack, accompanied by undercover agents, he started with a ritual invoking the Norse god Odin. He was quickly arrested and charged by the FBI.

Attorney General Merrick Garland issued this statement: “As charged, Skyler Philippi believed he was moments away from launching an attack on a Nashville energy facility to further his violent white supremacist ideology – but the FBI had already compromised his plot. This case serves as yet another warning to those seeking to sow violence and chaos in the name of hatred by attacking our country’s critical infrastructure.”

The Pagan world has struggled for some years now to distance itself from what is often called “volkish ideology.” Cherry Hill Seminary held a joint symposium with the University of South Carolina in 2019 called “Paganism and Its Discontents; Enduring Problems of Racialized Identity”, subsequently publishing the papers in a book with that title.

In his keynote for that conference, CHS professor Dr. Michael Strmiska said:

“We who embrace the spiritual value of Paganism must protect it from the disease of racism . . . there are Pagans who have been taking up this battle with courage and determination. Anti-right-wing, anti-racist Norse Pagans have created several networks to advance their cause. These include Heathens Against Hate, Heathens United Against Racism, and the Alliance for Inclusive Heathenry, all of which stand in adamant opposition to racism and white nationalist versions of Norse Paganism.”

Executive Director Holli Emore emphasized the Seminary’s commitment to inclusive Pagan practices. “In the same way that the Ku Klux Klan does not represent Christianity, neither do extremists who pursue violence and hate in the name of a Pagan tradition represent the great majority of today’s Heathens who are committed to values of democracy, inclusivity and peaceful co-existence.”

Emore has served for nearly ten years as a volunteer on the Community Engagement Council of the FBI Columbia Field Office where she has regularly advocated for attention to religion-based hate crimes.

Update November 27, 2024: Not long after the incident mentioned above, many black students at colleges around the U.S., including in South Carolina, received threatening racist text messages. The sender(s) sent them only to blacks, indicating that they knew the skin color of the person they messaged. The kind of chilling fear such an act produces is the very definition of terrorism. In our director’s last call with the FBI, those on the call were informed of the agency’s efforts to date. All are urged to report any suspicious or harassing incidents to your local authorities. CHS also reminds our students that we have chaplains on call here at the Seminary. Contact the office if you need spiritual support following such an incident.