This material may not be published, broadcast, reproduced or distributed. © 2023 Fox News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes are displayed in real time or with a delay of at least 15 minutes. Market information provided by Factset. Powered by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal judgment. Mutual fund and ETF data provided by Refinitive Leaper.
Muhammad Mesmarian appears in court during his sentencing at the Las Vegas Regional Trial Court on January 10, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada . (Las Vegas Review-Journal via Bizuayehu Tesfaye/AP)
Mesmarian told police he was born in Iran. His attorney, Nick Pitaro, said Wednesday that his client is a U.S. citizen and a college graduate. Colorado state records list his name as Muhammad. His professional passport indicates that he attended the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine.
Pietro declined to comment further on Mesmarian's case during a mental retardation hearing in state court in Las Vegas.
Mesmarian's arrest in Nevada follows a series of raids and arrests involving power substations in states including Washington, Oregon and North Carolina, and an order by federal regulators to review safety standards for the national transmission grid.
The US Department of Homeland Security has also issued a Domestic Terrorism Advisory that lists critical infrastructure in the US as potential targets of violence.
The charges against Mesmarian are similar to the 2016 case of a Utah man who was arrested and later sentenced to federal prison for using a rifle to damage a power substation after a power outage in rural Kane and Garfield.
According to court documents, Steven Plato McRae targeted power plants in remote areas of Utah and Nevada for months before he was arrested as part of a "master plan" to cut power across the West.
McRae told reporters he was "stopping global warming" and opposed fossil fuels. Court documents say he planned another attack to shut down a large power substation in Nevada, a "grandmother" he called.
Rights of New York terror suspect Saifullo Saipov.
In the Mesmarian case, Las Vegas police found iPhones and laptops linked to Mesmarian in a burned Toyota Camry registered to his mother, who lives in Idaho.
According to the arrest report, CCTV footage shows Mesmarian positioning the car, preparing it to burn, sitting and watching the flames for about 15 minutes before leaving the car. Mesmarian told police he "felt comfortable" and had no remorse.
There were no workers at the massive facility then. Upon arrival the next morning the damage was discovered.
Mesmarian was also charged with fleeing after police said he tried to elude officers twice. Later, he told the police, “He wanted to feel what the Black Lives Matter protesters were feeling when the police were taunting them. Police did not report the use of a Taser against Mesmarian.
Phone calls to Mesmarian's Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics office in Aurora, Colo., on Wednesday returned a busy signal.
Click here for Fox News
Records show Mesmarian's dental license is valid but was restricted by the Colorado Board of Dentistry last July, and Mesmarian filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Oct. 5 of last year.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court filings show he claims $1.4 million in debt, mostly business debt related to equipment rentals, as well as about $20,000 in student loan debt. He claimed $17,601 for his personal property.
The dental board's discipline stemmed from an October 2021 complaint about potentially unsanitary conditions at the Mesmariana clinic, "including improper disposal of infectious waste and unsealed syringes."
Management asks Mesmarian to undergo a modernization course within 12 months. A spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Regulators said Wednesday it was unclear whether it was. The lawyer representing Mesmarian in the case said he no longer represents her interests.
An attorney representing Mesmaria in the bankruptcy case did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Associated Press.
