US Police Have Arrested Two Suspects In Connection With The Attack On The Electricity Substation In Washington.

Illustration of electrical substations in the United States. (Unsplash/American Public Power Association)

JAKARTA - Two Washington State men were arrested in connection with a Christmas Day attack on four power substations in the East Timor region, federal authorities said Tuesday.

Matthew Greenwood and Jeremy Crahan are scheduled to attend Tuesday afternoon's trial at the US District CourtNCuma, on charges of conspiracy to undermine energy facilities and possession of unregistered firearms, the US Attorney's office said.

The two men are known to authorities, and have been under FBI surveillance for more than a month in late 2021 and early 2022, FBI special agent Mark Tucher said in a statement filed in federal court on Tuesday.

The agent gave no reason for the surveillance, but Tucher described himself in a written statement as a domestic terrorism expert assigned to the Seattle FBI joint terrorism task force.

According to Tucher's written statement, investigators believe the men cut the fence leading to four power plants in block County, Washington operated by Puget Sound Energy andnisum Power.

They then damaged equipment, turned off electricity to thousands of homes and businesses, the written statement said. Greenwood and Crahan were arrested on Saturday, the statement said.

The attack on the power grid in Washington State came after a similar incident in another state.

In December, a utility in North Carolina reported blackouts of what local authorities said were organized shootings, with federal law enforcement investigating the incident.

The FBI is also investigating gunfire fired near a power facility in South Carolina a few days later.