A Las Vegas man who was investigated by the US Justice Department for four months after discussing plans to carry out a terrorist attack on a synagogue has been arrested and is facing federal weapons charges, the Justice Department reported Friday.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Conor Climo, 23, became the target of a Justice Department terrorism task force investigation after he reached out to a white supremacist group.
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Three years ago, Climo was featured on a TV news report, carrying an assault rifle and four magazines. The weapon appeared in a 2017 social media post in which Climo quoted Adolf Hitler.
According to the criminal complaint, Climo corresponded online with an FBI informant. During their discussions, he made racist, anti-Semitic, and anti-LGBTQ remarks. He also discussed plans to attack a synagogue in Las Vegas, as well as the local chapter of the Anti-Defamation League. Climo also told the informant he planned to make Molotov cocktails and explosive devices.
Climo has been charged with one count of possession of an unregistered firearm, which the Justice Department described in a press release as a component of "a destructive device."
US Attorney for Nevada Nicholas Trutanich said in the Justice Department press release that "threats of violence motivated by hate and intended to intimidate or coerce our faith-based and LGBTQ communities have no place in this country."
Trutanich added that Nevada law enforcement was determined to employ every investigative resource at its disposal to "prevent bias-motivated violence before it happens."
