Foiled synagogue bomb plot leads to plea of guilty
A selfidentified white supremacist pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime for plotting to bomb a Colorado synagogue in 2019, actions that federal officials said meet the federal definition of domestic terrorism.
Richard Holzer, 28, pleaded guilty Thursday to two offenses: trying to obstruct people from exercising their religious beliefs by using force or explosives and trying to damage and destroy a building used in interstate commerce, according to the U. S. Attorney’s Office in Colorado. Each offense holds a maximum of 20 years in prison. However, according to plea agreement documents, prosecutors agreed not to recommend a sentence greater than 20 years.
“This is the most important work that we can do — protecting our communities by stopping an attack before it occurred,” said Jason Dunn, U. S. attorney for the District of Colorado.
Holzer’s arrest came a year after a gunman attacked congregants at a Pittsburgh synagogue, shouting antiSemitic slurs and killing 11 people. White supremacists were inspired by the attack, according to the AntiDefamation League, and Jewish institutions were targeted on at least 50 occasions in the year after the Oct. 27, 2018, rampage.
Mary Butterton, one of the lawyers representing Holzer, said she had no comment on the plea deal.
In October 2019, Holzer told undercover FBI agents that he planned to poison members of the Temple Emanuel Synagogue in Pueblo, Colo., according to the plea agreement.
In a meeting with undercover agents, Holzer mentioned using explosives. Later he discussed using pipe bombs after visiting the synagogue.