FBI: Man held in plot to bomb historic temple

DENVER » A man who repeatedly espoused anti-Semitic views has been arrested in a plot to bomb a historic Colorado synagogue, federal officials said Monday.

The co-conspirators in the plot turned out to be undercover agents, who arrested the man shortly before he planned to bomb the synagogue early Saturday morning, according to court documents.

Richard Holzer was arrested Friday in Pueblo just after the agents brought him what he believed were two pipe bombs along with dynamite to blow up Temple Emanuel. In fact, the undercover agents had phony bombs incapable of causing damage, authorities said.

Holzer, 27, described what he thought were the explosives as “absolutely gorgeous” and said they should go ahead with the attack overnight to avoid police, the court document said.

Holzer, who lives in Pueblo, briefly appeared in court on Monday in handcuffs and wearing a gray polo shirt with a black collar. He told U.S. Magistrate Judge Kristen Mix that he understood the charge against him, and she scheduled his next court date for Thursday.

It was unknown if Holzer had a federal public defender Monday, although one would be appointed for him before Thursday’s hearing, said Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Denver.