Knoxville, TN. — A Tennessee man has pleaded guilty in federal court to carrying out a politically motivated arson attack on a historic nonprofit and attempting to provide support to a foreign terrorist organization.
Regan Darby Prater, 28, of Tullahoma, entered the guilty plea to one count of arson and one count of attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee in Knoxville. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 9 by U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan and faces up to 20 years in federal prison, along with fines, restitution, and supervised release.
According to court documents, Prater admitted to constructing and deploying a napalm-based incendiary device, commonly referred to as a “sparkler bomb,” to destroy a building at the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, Tennessee. The Highlander Center is known for its long-standing role in training grassroots organizers and its historical ties to the Civil Rights Movement.
Prater told investigators he drove from his home to the site, ignited the device, and caused a fire that resulted in more than $1.2 million in damage. Prior to setting the fire, he spray-painted a symbol linked to the Iron Guard, a fascist paramilitary organization associated with Nazi-era Romania, in the facility’s parking lot.
Authorities said the same symbol had been used in the 2019 Christchurch, New Zealand mosque shootings, and Prater acknowledged that his actions were motivated by white supremacist ideology. Before he detonated the bomb, Prater spray-painted the symbol of the Iron Guard, a 1930s-era paramilitary arm of the Romanian Nazi Party, in the Highlander Center parking lot. He also admitted targeting the Highlander Center because of its educational mission and association with civil rights and social justice efforts.
In a separate offense, Prater admitted that in 2019 he attempted to provide material support to Hezbollah, which has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States since 1997. Prosecutors said he obtained a document containing personal information on more than 35,000 individuals believed to be affiliated with the Israeli government.
He then shared that information with a person he believed to be connected to Hezbollah, along with a message encouraging violence, writing, “Start the hunt,” according to court filings.
Federal officials emphasized the seriousness of both offenses, noting the combination of ideologically motivated violence and attempts to support an international terrorist group.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the Eastern District of Tennessee, along with trial attorneys from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and National Security Division.
Officials said the prosecution reflects ongoing efforts to address domestic extremism and threats tied to foreign terrorist organizations.
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