(JTA) — A Las Vegas man who worked as a security guard pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm, related to charges that he planned to bomb a local synagogue or a bar that caters to the LBGTQ community.
Conor Climo, 23, appeared Monday in a Las Vegas court to possessing the components of a destructive device. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years, but The Associated Press said he was likely to get two to three years when he is sentenced in May. He will receive mental health treatment in prison.
Climo was having encrypted online conversations with individuals who identified with a white supremacist extremist organization, Feuerkrieg Division, an offshoot of the white supremacist extremist group Atomwaffen Division. At least one Atomwaffen member has been implicated in an allegedly anti-Semitic murder.
Climo regularly used derogatory racial, anti-Semitic and homosexual slurs. He communicated with one undercover online contact and an FBI confidential informant.
According to the complaint, he discussed attacking a Las Vegas synagogue and making Molotov cocktails and improvised explosive devices, and discussed conducting surveillance on a bar he believed catered to the LGBTQ community. The synagogue was not identified.
A Justice Department statement said Climo’s arrest was the result of the Disruption and Early Engagement Programs, a national strategy to disrupt potential mass shootings and other rapidly mobilizing threats and the need to implement timely, effective and efficient responses.”
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
