Las Vegas Security Guard Accused of Plotting To Bomb Synagogues, LGBTQ Bar
LAS VEGAS NV Aug 11 2019 — A man who worked as a security guard quoted Adolf Hitler in an online discussion about multiculturalism, sketched in a journal his vision of a shooting attack on a downtown LGBTQ bar and plotted to firebomb a Las Vegas synagogue, according to federal authorities.
Conor Climo, 23, of Las Vegas, was arrested Thursday by an FBI-led anti-terrorism task force, U.S. Attorney Nicholas Trutanich said in a statement.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Koppe on Friday ordered Climo to remain in federal custody pending an Aug. 23 court appearance on a federal firearms charge. His court-appointed federal public defender didn’t immediately respond to messages.
Climo’s arrest followed a weeklong string of mass shootings – with one specifically targeting Latinos – that claimed 31 lives in El Paso and Dayton.
Court documents say Climo communicated by encrypted internet chat with people identified as white supremacists, and told an FBI informant in recent weeks that he was scouting places to attack – including a bar in downtown Las Vegas.
“Threats of violence motivated by hate and intended to intimidate or coerce our faith-based and LGBTQ communities have no place in this country,” Trutanich said.
Documents point to a 2016 news report by KTNV-TV in Las Vegas about Climo patrolling his neighborhood wearing battle gear and carrying an assault rifle and survival knife. He shows and describes to a reporter the four, 30-bullet ammunition magazines he is carrying.
Neighbors expressed concern, but Climo was not arrested at that time. Las Vegas police Officer Aden Ocampo-Gomez noted Friday that Nevada is an open-carry weapon state and Climo broke no laws.
During their investigation, authorities discovered Climo used Quora – a website where users post questions and answer – and addressed this question: “What are the downsides of multiculturalism?”
