Armed Domestic Extremist Rams Vehicle Through LADWP Power Substation Gate Near Boulder City in FBI-Investigated Terror Incident

On February 19, 2026, at approximately 10:00 a.m. local time, a 23-year-old man from Albany, New York, identified as Dawson Noah Maloney, deliberately accelerated a rented Nissan Sentra through the secured perimeter gate of an electrical power facility outside Boulder City, Nevada, in what the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) and FBI are jointly investigating as a terrorism-related event. Maloney, who had been reported missing by family days earlier, died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was found wearing soft body armor and holding a shotgun.

The targeted facility is owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and functions as a power transfer station operating in close coordination with the Hoover Dam hydroelectric complex — one of the nation's critical power generation assets serving Nevada, Arizona, and California. The LADWP confirmed awareness of the incident and stated there were no disruptions to operations; the vehicle was stopped by large industrial wire reels inside the facility before reaching primary electrical equipment.

A multi-jurisdictional search of Maloney's rental vehicle and his Boulder City hotel room revealed a significant weapons cache including two shotguns, an AR-style pistol, loaded AR magazines, two commercial-grade flamethrowers containing thermite material, ammonium nitrate, precursor chemicals, and body armor. Multiple books espousing extremist ideologies spanning right-wing, left-wing, environmental extremism, white supremacy, and anti-government beliefs were also recovered.

Prior to the attack, Maloney had sent messages to family members referencing self-harm and stating he intended to commit an act that would put him "on the news." In a message to his mother, he referred to himself as a "dead terrorist son." FBI Albany and FBI Las Vegas executed search warrants at two Albany residences, recovering electronics, firearms components, and a 3D printer.

LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill described the incident as one that "significantly elevates the seriousness" of infrastructure security concerns. The attack reinforces sustained warnings from federal intelligence agencies that domestic extremists and accelerationist groups view critical electrical infrastructure as a high-value symbolic and operational target, a threat pattern that has increased markedly since 2020.