Digital Forensics Dispatch

Social Media Data Aids in Identifying Man With Plans To “Kill” 70 Percent of the Internet

April 13, 2021

According to Mark Hand, a staff writer for Patch.com, Seth Pendley of Wichita Falls, Texas was arrested last week after FBI agents discovered he planned to destroy an Amazon data center in Ashburn Virginia.

The investigation that led to the arrest began when the FBI received a tip in January about posts being made by a particular user of a forum called mymilitia.com. The poster was reportedly planning to attack the data center in an attempt to, in his words, “kill off about 70% of the internet.”

The poster’s email address was provided to the investigators who were able to verify it was registered to Pendley. The investigation continued onto his personal Facebook page which included claims of participation in the January 6^th attack at the US Capitol building. Pendley was also active on the encrypted chat application Signal.

Another confidential informant was able to connect him though that app with an “explosives supplier” who was actually an undercover FBI agent. Eventually Pendley arranged to meet the undercover agent to purchase what he believed to be C4 explosives. The agent supplied Pendley with inert devices and demonstrated how to arm and trigger them. Once Pendley loaded the devices into his vehicle, FBI agents immediately placed him under arrest.

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