Man pleads guilty to federal weapons charge

A Colorado man who planned to build a “white private community” in the mountains in order to offer anti- Semitic curriculum and weapons training pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a firearm.

Chad Edward Keith pleaded guilty in federal district court on Oct. 17 to one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, according to court records.

Keith was arrested in May by the FBI on allegations that he illegally possessed 11 firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

Keith pleaded guilty in federal court in 2003 to one count of possessing an unregistered firearm, which was classified as a destructive device. He was sentenced to four years in prison.

The FBI’S complaint, filed by a special agent on the Joint Terrorism Task Force, was based in part on evidence gathered by a paid confidential informant.

The informant documented shooting trips to the Fremont County property, where Keith told the informant he wanted to create a “white private community” on the land and purchase adjacent property to do “hard core weapons training” in addition to starting a school that would teach weapons skills, instill white supremacy ideology and include anti- Semitic curriculum.

According to court records, Keith possessed and fired weapons including a Fusil Automatique Leger (FAL), a .308 caliber semiautomatic rifle that can fire 650 to 700 rounds in a minute. Keith traded an AR-15 rifle to possess the FAL.

Keith’s plea agreement states that prosecutors will request a reduced sentence in recognition of Keith accepting responsibility, according to court records.

The maximum sentence for the charge is up to 15 years in prison, three years of probation and a $250,000 fine.