I just skimmed the article, but did they actually have a plot to do the job or was it just gathering information?
The fairly detailed documentation on the power grid will likely do them in, as will the theft of "military gear" even if it was only Magpul mags.
A scary part from the big brother side is the talking about how they "researched" guns and nerve toxins, and discussed that previous power grid attempt, which I remember reading about and also being discussed on...APS.
I worry about Internet searches like that being used as evidence. Don't anti-gunners research firearms? What about nerve toxins? How many people of all walks of life may have done internet searches on them after say, one of the many Russian poisonings in the news, just to learn about them?
Or you know, when I do a search for buying Tannerite, a completely legal substance? I remember back in the day downloading instructions for Thermite as well. Something else discussed here on APS many times in the past.
Given that most all of us here fall under the current "guidelines" for domestic terrorism, I continually think twice before I look things up on the interwebz these days, as sometimes it's worth taking the time to turn on VPN and Tor.
EDIT: Oh, also, from the article:
He moved to Idaho in 2018 after separating from the Marines and discussed the shooting of protesters with a group member who had been observing Black Lives Matter rallies in Boise, Idaho, the indictment said.
How often in the last year have we discussed potentially needing to shoot BLM or antifa in defense of our lives? Or discussed someone finally getting sick of their violence, and instead of being pulled out of their car and beaten, turning "the switch"* on and putting down their attackers?
*As we have discussed often, liberals having a volume control that they constantly turn up and down, and the rest of us having a switch that is only "on" or "off", and you don't want to see it "on".