LOS ANGELES, Aug 10, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A Las Vegas man charged with
possession of bomb-making materials discussed attacks on targets, including a
synagogue, with white supremacists, prosecutors said Friday.
Conor Climo, 23, was arraigned in federal court in the western US state of
Nevada after FBI agents monitored his online conversations with a “white
supremacist extremist organization” committed to pursuing its goals “via
terrorism and other violent acts,” the US attorney’s office said in a
statement.
They discussed making explosives and targeting the synagogue as well as
conducting surveillance on a gay bar, the criminal complaint said.
Climo was arrested Thursday. Authorities seized a notebook with hand-drawn
plans for a potential attack in the Las Vegas area and drawings of timed
explosive devices.
“Threats of violence motivated by hate and intended to intimidate or coerce
our faith-based and LGBTQ communities have no place in this Country,” said
federal prosecutor Nicholas Trutanich.
“Law enforcement in Nevada remains determined to use the full weight of our
investigative resources to prevent bias-motivated violence before it
happens.”
If convicted, Climo faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a
$250,000 fine.
Members of the organization he communicated with “believe in the
superiority of the white race,” and the group encourages attacks on the
federal government, as well as minorities and LGBTQ people, the statement
said.
Climo’s arrest comes after three mass shootings in the US in the past two
weeks.
Last weekend, a young white man shot and killed 22 people at a Walmart
store in El Paso, Texas, a city with a population that is 83 percent of
Hispanic descent.
In a manifesto posted online before the attack, the shooter said he was
fighting back against a “Hispanic invasion” of Texas.
FBI special agent Aaron Rouse said “the FBI will always be proactive to
combat threats that cross a line from free speech to potential violence.”