KEY POINTS

  • Conor Climo pleaded guilty of having bomb-making parts after he was arrested on the same allegations last year
  • A criminal complaint said Climo allegedly wanted to attack a Las Vegas synagogue and a bar that he believed caters to the LGBTQ community
  • Climo's plans were discovered through an encrypted online conversation where he spoke with individuals that belonged to a white supremacits extremist organization 

A Las Vegas, Nevada native who was arrested for allegedly planning to attack a Las Vegas synagogue and an LGBTQ bar, pleaded guilty to possessing bomb making components, Monday.

23-year-old Conor Climo was arrested by authorities on August 8, 2019 on suspicion of possessing bomb making materials, said the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada.

Climo's arrest also came after an FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation found the materials inside his Las Vegas Home. In addition, an executed search warrant also led to the discovery of a notebook with “several hand-drawn schematics” and drawings of timed explosive devices.

Courtroom
A mistrial was declared by the judge assigned to the murder case of a Queens jogger after the jury was unable to come up with a verdict for the suspect after a day and half of deliberation. In this photo, a view from behind the witness stand is seen looking toward the gallery in Courtroom #8 at the Superior Court of California courthouse in Santa Maria, California, Jan. 30, 2005. Getty Images/ Spencer Weiner-Pool

Federal agents also seized an AR-15 rifle and a bolt-action rifle from Climo's house, according to NBC News.

He was charged by a criminal complaint with one count of possession of an unregistered firearm, the statement added.

The complaint pointed Climo communicating with individuals who belonged to a white supremacist extremist organization. In an encrypted online conversation that spanned throughout 2019, Climo openly discussed his plan to attack a Las Vegas synagogue and making Molotov Cocktails and improvised explosive devices.

Climo was also caught detailing his surveillance efforts on a bar that he believed caters to the LGBTQ community located on Freemont Street. Furthermore, he tried to recruit a homeless individual to help him in his “pre-attack surveillance” against at least one synagogue.

“Threats of violence motivated by hate and intended to intimidate or coerce our faith-based and LGBTQ communities have not place in this country,” said United States Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich in the statement.

Climo faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 14, reported NBC News in a separate article.

RELATED STORIES