The FBI busted a Las Vegas-based white supremacist after he allegedly talked about making bombs, attacking a Jewish synagogue, and planning a violent ambush on a gay bar, according to the US Attorney’s Office in Nevada.
Conor Climo, a 23-year-old security guard employed by Allied Universal, was arrested and hit with an unregistered firearm charge on August 8 after authorities found bomb-making parts in his home.
The criminal complaint states that Climo carried out surveillance on a Las Vegas gay bar between June 19 and July 8 of this year “and described in great detail the geographical layout of the area.” Authorities found a sketch in his home outlining an attack on the bar. Climo had drawn two infantry squads — one inside and one outside — shooting those in the bar, authorities said.
It is not clear which synagogue or gay bar was targeted. The federal government’s statement regarding Climo’s arrest only states that the gay bar was located on Fremont Street in Las Vegas. Reports in local media did not pinpoint which bar was specified and search results indicate that there are multiple gay bars located on that street.
Climo, who the feds say once quoted Hitler on a social media platform, allegedly talked about preparing Molotov cocktails and improvised explosive devices to use in attacking a synagogue. He also tried unsuccessfully to recruit others, including a homeless person, to aid his terrorist efforts, authorities say.
According to the complaint, federal authorities first started probing Climo in April when they found out he was communicating with members of the white supremacist group Atomwaffen Division (AWD), which pledges allegiance to the National Socialist Movement.
The complaint states that AWD encourages attacks “on the federal government, including critical infrastructure, minorities, homosexuals, and Jews,” and mobilizes its members to prepare for a race war.
In 2017, according to authorities, Climo communicated with members of the Feuerkrieg Division, which has been tied to AWD, and he expressed a desire to take “generally different” action against black people, Jewish folks, and members of the LGBTQ community.
“Threats of violence motivated by hate and intended to intimidate or coerce our faith-based and LGBTQ communities have no place in this Country,” US Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich of the District of Nevada said in a written statement. “Law enforcement in Nevada remains determined to use the full weight of our investigative resources to prevent bias-motivated violence before it happens. I commend our partners who identified the threat and took swift and appropriate action to ensure justice and protect the community.”
The case is just the latest in a disturbing ongoing trend of white men plotting and sometimes successfully carrying out violent terrorist attacks across the nation. In one of the most recent attacks, a man who killed 22 people and injured dozens of others in a shooting in El Paso, Texas, on August 3 had ties to white supremacist groups and had warned of an “Hispanic invasion” of Texas.
Climo faces 10 years behind bars if he is convicted.
