A 23-year-old Las Vegas man with a history of associating with white supremacists was indicted on September 17 2019 on a federal weapons charge for allegedly planning mass shooting attacks against both a local synagogue and an LGBTQ bar.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Conor Climo was charged with possessing an unregistered firearm in connection with the bomb making materials found at his home when he was arrested a month earlier. Prosecutors said that Climo engaged in online chats with members of the white supremacist group Atomwaffen.
Magistrate Judge Nancy Koppe, who rejected a request for the suspect to be released before his trial, wrote that Climo had “gathered component parts that can readily be assembled into a destructive device.” The judge also said that he specifically planned to attack a synagogue near his house and also intended “to light an incendiary device and having others join him to shoot people as they came out of the synagogue.”
At the time of his arrest, authorities also found a notebook containing both drawings of explosive devices and “several hand-drawn schematics for a potential Las Vegas-area attack” as well as an AR-15 — the type of firearm used to commit several shooting attacks around the US. One of his other purported targets was a bar in the city he believed catered to the LGBTQ communities.
News site Unicorn Riot reported that besides his association with Atomwaffen, Climo was also involved with the fascist group the Traditional Workers Party (TWP):
His chat logs contain extensive use of racist and anti-semitic slurs, at one point calling a synagogue near his workplace a “rat’s nest.” Climo aka ‘B1488’ also boasted about weapons he possessed, telling his fellow TWP members “I have an AR-15” and sharing an image of a knife that he called his “pig sticker.” Some of Climo’s messages show he developed an interest in cybersecurity and Kali Linux, and repeatedly posted about his desire to hack antifascist websites.
Climo first attracted news coverage in September 2016, when he was filmed patrolling his neighborhood claiming that he was acting to prevent crime. He also said at the time that he had served in the military, but he did not provide evidence to support the allegation.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
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