Joe.My.God. LGBT News
NBC News reports:
A 23-year-old Las Vegas man who allegedly wanted to attack Jews and patrons of an LGBTQ bar was arrested on suspicion of possessing parts to make a bomb, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada said Friday.
Conor Climo, who was arrested Thursday, was connected to white supremacists though encrypted online conversations, federal prosecutors said.
“Threats of violence motivated by hate and intended to intimidate or coerce our faith-based and LGBTQ communities have no place in this country,” Nicholas A. Trutanich, U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada, said in a statement.
Buzzfeed News reports:
Climo had already caused concern among his neighbors in 2016 when, in a video posted to his now-deleted YouTube channel, he announced plans to patrol his Centennial Hills neighborhood with an AR-15-style rifle, four 30-round clips, and camouflaged packs.
FBI agents with the Las Vegas Joint Terrorism Task Force began looking at Climo in April when, according to the complaint, they learned he was communicating with the white extremist group Atomwaffen Division.
Members of that group have been linked to at least five deaths since 2017, including a Tampa man who killed his two roommates and told police they were members of the group planning a large-scale attack.
Reuters reports:
Climo, who faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted, was arraigned in federal court on Friday, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney for Nevada.
His arrest stemmed from an investigation conducted by an FBI task force specializing in monitoring the activities and online communications of extremists and domestic terror groups. The investigation was detailed in an 11-page criminal complaint and probable cause statement filed in court federal prosecutors and the FBI.
During encrypted online conversations with undercover FBI operatives, Climo discussed attacking a Las Vegas synagogue and making Molotov cocktails and improvised explosive devices, according to the criminal complaint.
I’m grateful that our law enforcement was able to act quickly and prevent this from becoming a tragedy.
Hate and bigotry have no place in our communities. https://t.co/8OowhWpSUj
— Senator Jacky Rosen (@SenJackyRosen) August 10, 2019
There is no place for anti-semitism, racism, homophobia or hatred of any kind in my district. Thank you to our hardworking law enforcement for heading off this threat to the people of #NV04. We are forever in your debt. https://t.co/0ACvCJdAx8
— Rep. Steven Horsford (@RepHorsford) August 10, 2019
Two more alleged shots of Conor Climo, who once patrolled his high-end Vegas neighborhood as part of a one man “citywide civilian force”, and was just arrested by the FBI for planning attacks on a synagogue and a gay bar.
But we have no idea where mass shooters come from. https://t.co/RuXSSVzINU
— Mike Rothschild (@rothschildmd) August 9, 2019
Here’s a https://t.co/tAaMXjMYVr petition under the name Conor Climo asking for a repeal of the ban on machine guns. https://t.co/Al3mueUMJw pic.twitter.com/fcBxGzqdaX
— Nick Martin (@nickmartin) August 9, 2019
Here is part of our original interview with Conor Climo from 2016 when he raised eyebrows in the Centennial Hills area.
More info on his current arrest https://t.co/Nh1Gw8dnUD pic.twitter.com/1kT5UHTK9M
— KTNV Action News (@KTNV) August 10, 2019