Conor Climo, a self-described white supremacist pleaded guilty Monday in Las Vegas to collecting materials and planning to bomb a synagogue or shoot people at a fast food restaurant/ bar catering to LGBTQ customers.
Climo, 24, stood rigidly in yellow jail scrubs, answering, “Yes, your honor,” while U.S. District Judge James Mahan questioned him about encrypted internet chats with an FBI informant and his membership in Feuerkrieg Division, an offshoot of a U.S.-based neo-Nazi group called Atomwaffen Division.
Climo said he possessed “materials required to make a destructive device, your honor.” He pleaded guilty to felony possession of an unregistered firearm.
His detainee garb contrasted with the military-style battle gear he wore when he was interviewed in September 2016 by a local television news crew as he patrolled his neighborhood carrying an assault rifle, survival knife and extended-capacity ammunition magazines. Police said at the time he was not arrested because Nevada does not prohibit openly carrying firearms.
A former security guard, Climo was arrested Aug. 8 and remains in federal custody. He acknowledged Monday that he now takes prescription medications but did not specify his diagnosis. He will undergo mental health treatment and electronic computer monitoring during supervised release after prison, according to his plea agreement. He can't possess weapons.
Climo could face up to 10 years prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted at trial. His court-appointed public defender, Paul Riddle, declined outside court to comment.
FBI Las Vegas Special Agent in Charge Aaron Rouse, who watched in court with a contingent of local and federal law enforcers, later declared Climo’s plea a success for “proactive enforcement" and cooperation among agencies.
U.S. Attorney Nicholas Trutanich said Climo's threats of violence were “motivated by hate and intended to intimidate or coerce our faith-based and LGBTQ communities." He said authorities are committed to assessing threats and intervening "before mass violence can occur.”