White supremacist pleads guilty to plotting to bomb Colorado synagogue after turning up to a meeting with undercover FBI agents with a copy of 'Mein Kampf' and a Nazi armband
Richard Holzer, 28, pleaded guilty on Thursday
A man described by U.S. prosecutors as a neo-Nazi and white supremacist pleaded guilty on Thursday to a hate crime for plotting to bomb a historic Colorado synagogue last year.
Richard Holzer, 28, pleaded guilty to attempting to stop people from exercising their religion with an explosive or fire and attempting to destroy a building used in interstate commerce in a plea deal with prosecutors.
While each of the two crimes carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison, prosecutors in return promised not to ask a judge to impose a sentence of more than 20 years when Holzer is sentenced January 21.
The Pueblo, Colo., man was arrested November 1, 2019 after receiving phony pipe bombs and dynamite from undercover FBI agents he had been meeting with.
One agent posing as a white supremacist had reached out to him online after seeing Holzer's social media posts promoting white supremacy and violence, according to the facts agreed to by both sides as part of the plea deal.
Holzer allegedly told the agent of a plan to poison the water at the Temple Emanuel Synagogue in Pueblo, according to the FBI's criminal complaint.
Richard Holzer was arrested November 1, 2019 after receiving phony pipe bombs and dynamite from undercover FBI agents he had been meeting with
On October 3, 2019, he allegedly told the agent he was planning to visit the synagogue to 'scope it out.' The next day he sent a video showing a woman leaving the synagogue, with his voice audible.
Holzer then allegedly said he planned on October 31 to poison the synagogue's water, possibly with arsenic.
The first agent connected Holzer to three undercover agents that he would then meet up with at a Colorado Springs restaurant October 17.
Holzer brought up the idea of using explosives to vandalize the synagogue 'beyond repair.'
'I want something that tells them they are not welcome in this town. Better get the f*** out, otherwise, people will die,' he said.
Two days later, Holzer allegedly sent agents a video of himself walking around the synagogue and commenting of features of the building.
On October 23, one of the undercover agents sent him a photo that appeared to depict a pipe bomb.
Signs, flowers and candles expressing love for the Jewish community stand outside the historic Temple Emanuel in Pueblo, Colo.
Built in 1900, Temple Emanuel is the oldest Jewish house of worship in Pueblo and the second oldest in the state
'Sieg Heil brothers,' Holzer allegedly responded.
On November 1, during the ride over to a motel room where he would meet with the three undercover agents, Holzer displayed a Nazi armband.
At the motel he allegedly removed a knife, a mask, and a copy of 'Mein Kampf' from his backpack.
There Holzer accepted two fake pipe bombs and 14 sticks of phony dynamite, just hours before he planned to use them at Temple Emanuel, according to the plea document.
Holzer also thanked the agents for their efforts and called the planned attack a 'move for our race,' the plea document said.
After his arrest, Holzer told police that he did not plan to hurt anyone by bombing the synagogue in the middle of the night, but acknowledged he would have gone ahead with his plan if the building had been occupied because anyone there would be Jewish, the plea deal document said.
Emanuel Temple president Michael Atlas-Acuña walks past a memorial inside the historic Temple Emanuel for the victims of the 2018 Aytz Chaim Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh
During the discussion after his arrest Holzer also told agents Jews and the synagogue were a 'cancer' to the community and the plan to blow up the synagogue was 'my mountain,' according to the criminal complaint.
That document said Holzer's crime amounted to 'domestic terrorism.'
The Temple Emanuel is the second oldest synagogue in Colorado. It was built in 1900 largely by descendants of immigrants from central and eastern Europe.
In a statement about the deal, Colorado U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn called the law enforcement effort on the case 'the most important work that we can do - protecting our communities by stopping an attack before it occurred.'
Holzer's guilty plea is a reminder that hate crimes will not be tolerated in the state, Scott Levin, the director of the Anti-Defamation League Mountain States Region said.
'Hate crimes damage the social fabric of our society and fragment communities. It is critical that those who seek to harm others because of their religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation or any other defining characteristic, be held accountable for their crimes,' he said.
According to the league, the number of anti-Semitic incidents reported in Colorado increased 56% from 2018 to 2019.