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FALLS CHURCH, Virginia – A former Old Dominion University student who joined white supremacists in a crushing conspiracy targeting a black church, his own university, and a cabinet officer, among others, has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison on Monday.
The 33-month sentence imposed on 20-year-old John William Kirby Kelley, of Vienna, Virginia, essentially splits the difference between the five-year sentence sought by prosecutors and the 14-month-time-served sentence requested by his lawyers.
Kelley pleaded guilty to hosting an internet chat room in which he and others called for bogus bomb threats and attacks on more than 100 targets, many of whom were targeted due to the racial or religious animosity.
Among the participants in the plot was a founder of the Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi hate group. This individual, John C. Denton of Montgomery, Texas, has also pleaded guilty and is awaiting conviction.
Kelley was 17 and lived at his home in Northern Virginia when he opened the Graveyard chat room. The chat room quickly became a haven for the hateful rhetoric of white supremacists, who reveled in the chaos caused by their beating calls.
Among the targets were the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria and the home of then Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who also lives in Alexandria. The group also targeted the Dar El-Eman Islamic Center in Arlington, Texas, and a black church in Schenectady, New York, the first Reformed Church.
Kelley also had her own school, Old Dominion University, which was targeted twice, causing closures and police intervention. University police contacted Kelley about the calls, but prosecutors said it was the subsequent call against Nielsen that led police to the members of the plot.
Although Kelley regularly used racist language and admitted that the crush plot chose certain targets because of race or religion, he denied that he was a racist and argued that he naively accepted the language. hate spread throughout the Internet channel he had created.
At his sentencing hearing in the US Distinct Court in Alexandria, he apologized for his conduct and asked for leniency. He said the time he spent in prison had been difficult for him, pointing to difficulties such as the lack of access to the prison barber shop.
“The racial language that was expressed by me and my co-conspirators, as well as the crush attacks, do not represent my values and beliefs,” he told the judge. “In addition, I was personally disgusted with the direction the chat room took after I left. I made it my personal mission to improve myself and separate myself from bad influences like these.
His attorney, Cadence Mertz, objected to Kelley’s crimes being classified as a hate crime, which resulted in a higher sentencing directive. She said there was no evidence that Kelley had personally targeted anyone because of racial animosity.
“He made it clear that these opinions he expressed, which are hateful and vile, are not who he is,” Mertz said.
Judge Liam O’Grady, however, ruled that the hate crime designation was appropriate and said his conduct and association with known white supremacists “shows how close you are and how aligned you are with this group.” .
But he credited Kelley for his youth, renouncing racism and his mental health deficits by giving him a 33-month sentence that was below the 51-60 month range.
Acting US District Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Raj Parekh, whose office pursued the case, said in a statement: “Swatting attacks are serious crimes that disrupt the operations of local emergency agencies. first responders to real emergencies and cause casualties. .. in serious danger. EDVA will continue to bring to justice those who threaten public safety with these menacing hoaxes, especially when the threats are motivated by racial or religious animosity. “
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