Las Vegas synagogue attack plan alleged
Authorities arrested a Las Vegas man who discussed attacking a local synagogue and charged him in connection with bomb-making materials found in his home, officials said.
The man, Conor Climo, was charged Thursday with one count of possession of an unregistered firearm, namely, the component parts of a destructive device, the Justice Department said.
Prosecutors said that Climo, 23, had communicated with people who identify with a white supremacist extremist organization, and had encrypted online conversations in which he regularly used racial, anti-Semitic and homophobic slurs.
He discussed attacking a Las Vegas synagogue, making Molotov cocktails and improvising explosive devices, officials said.
Climo also discussed conducting surveillance on a bar he believed served the LGBTQ community in downtown Las Vegas.
During the execution of a search warrant Thursday, authorities seized a notebook with handdrawn schematics for a potential Las Vegas-area attack. Also inside the notebook were drawings of timed explosive devices, officials said.
Authorities said Climo tried unsuccessfully to recruit a person who was homeless to conduct surveillance on a synagogue and other targets leading up to an attack.
Officials said Climo was a security guard but did not say where.
His LinkedIn account showed he worked for Allied Universal, a company based in Santa Ana, Calif. A company spokeswoman said Climo had been suspended.
“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 Nicholas Trutanich, U.S. attorney for the District of Nevada.
If convicted, Climo faces up to 10 years in prison. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had a lawyer.
In 2016, Climo made headlines when he announced plans to become a one-man neighborhood watch organization.
In a segment on KTNV-TV, he was seen patrolling his neighborhood with an assault rifle and four 30-round magazines. He quickly abandoned those plans.