Canadian Man Pleads Guilty to Shooting and Destroying U.S. Energy Facilities

Canadian Man Pleads Guilty to Shooting and Destroying U.S. Energy FacilitiesPhoto byStock Image

By Kristy Tallman, September 13, 2024

BISMARCK, N.D. – A Canadian man, Cameron Monte Smith, has pleaded guilty in federal court to orchestrating violent attacks on two critical energy facilities in North and South Dakota, facing the possibility of up to 40 years in federal prison for his crimes. Smith, 46, admitted to using a high-powered rifle to cause significant damage to the Wheelock Substation in North Dakota and a Keystone Pipeline transformer and pump station in South Dakota, resulting in costly disruptions.

Smith’s rampage began in May 2023, when he fired multiple rounds into the Wheelock Substation, a vital energy hub operated by Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative and Basin Electric Power Cooperative. The damage caused exceeded $100,000, knocking out electric services for North Dakota customers and compromising the local power grid.

But that wasn’t enough for Smith. Just a year earlier, in July 2022, he had launched a similar attack on the Keystone Pipeline near Carpenter, South Dakota, shooting up a transformer and causing another $100,000 in damage. The attacks temporarily disrupted the pipeline’s operations, a critical piece of U.S. energy infrastructure.

In court, U.S. Attorneys Mac Schneider from North Dakota and Alison Ramsdell from South Dakota condemned Smith’s actions as deliberate and violent attacks on the nation’s energy grid.

“This defendant deliberately and very violently attacked our nation’s energy infrastructure,” said U.S. Attorney Mac Schneider. “Our law enforcement partners put an end to these attacks, and this guilty plea provides a measure of accountability for the extensive damage he caused.”

“Cameron Smith orchestrated and executed attacks on critical energy infrastructure in North and South Dakota using a high-powered rifle,” said U.S. Attorney Alison Ramsdell. “Thanks to the combined efforts of federal and local law enforcement, he will now be held accountable for his criminal activity.”

Smith faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each count of destruction of an energy facility. His sentencing date is expected soon, and authorities expect him to serve substantial time behind bars.

The case was the result of an extensive investigation by the FBI, ATF, and several sheriff’s departments from both North and South Dakota. Federal prosecutors from both states worked together, with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, to bring Smith to justice.

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By Kristy Tallman, September 13, 2024
The Republic News
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of South Dakota

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