White supremacist arrested by FBI for plotting to bomb synagogue
The FBI says a 27-year-old white supremacist was planning to bomb a historic synagogue in Colorado.
A man has been arrested in a plot to bomb a historical Colorado synagogue, federal officials said Monday.
The co-conspirators in the plot turned out to be undercover agents, according to court documents.
Richard Holzer was arrested Friday in Pueblo just after the agents brought him what were supposedly two pipe bombs along with dynamite to blow up Temple Emanuel.
Holzer, 27, described the explosives as “absolutely gorgeous” and said they should go ahead with the attack overnight to avoid police, the court document said.
The investigation into Holzer began after an undercover FBI agent purporting to be a woman who supports white supremacy contacted him on Facebook.
Congress has been trying to find ways to fight back against a rise of attacks carried out by white supremacists, including deadly mass shootings at a synagogue in Pittsburgh last year and at a Wal-Mart in El Paso over the summer.
Holzer, who lives in Pueblo, was due to make his first court appearance Monday. It’s not clear if he has a lawyer representing him.
U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn in Denver and FBI Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Dean Phillips also planned a news conference Monday.
The Temple Emanuel synagogue is the second-oldest in Colorado and was completed in 1900, according to Temple Emanuel’s website.
It has a congregation of about 30 families and a rabbi from Denver who travels to Pueblo twice a month. Pueblo is about a two hour drive south of Denver. A voicemail left at the temple Monday afternoon wasn’t immediately returned.
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