FALLS CHURCH, Va. A former Old Dominion University student who teamed up with white supremacists in a conspiracy aimed at a black church, his own university and a cabinet officer was sentenced to nearly three years in prison on Monday.
The 33-month sentence for John William Kirby Kelley, 20, of Vienna, Virginia, essentially divides the difference between the five-year term demanded by prosecutors and the 14-month sentence sought by his lawyers.
Kelley pleaded guilty to presenting an Internet chat room in which he and others made false bomb threats and attacks on more than 100 targets, many of whom were targeted for racial or religious animus.
Among those in the conspiracy was a founder of Atomic Weapons Division, a neo-Nazi hate group. The individual, John C. Denton of Montgomery, Texas, also pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
Kelley was 17 and living at home in Northern Virginia when he started the Graveyard chat room. The chat room soon became a haven for hateful rhetoric by white supremacists, delighting them with the chaos their swatter calls were causing.
Among the targets were Alfred Baptist Church in Alexandria and the home of the then Secretary of Homeland Security 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 targeted his own school, Old Dominion University, twice, leading to closures and a police response. University police contacted Kelley about the calls, but prosecutors said it was the subsequent call on Nielsen that led police to the conspiracy members.
Although Kelley regularly used racist language and admitted that the conspiracy on the basis of race or religion chose certain targets, he denied that he was a racist and argued that he had naively conceded to the hateful language used in the internet channel he created it, was.
At his sentencing in the U.S. Distinct Court in Alexandria, he apologized for his actions and mitigation. He said the time he spent in jail was difficult for him, noting that he was suffering like a lack of access to the jailer’s shop.
“The racial language expressed by me and my fellow defenders, together with the attacks that are being put on me, does not represent my values and beliefs,” he told the judge. ‘Furthermore, I was personally disgusted by the direction the chat room was heading towards my departure. I made it a personal mission to improve myself and separate myself from bad influences like this. ”
His lawyer, Cadence Mertz, objected to Kelley’s crimes being classified as a hate crime, which led to a higher guideline for sentencing. She said there is no evidence that Kelley personally targeted anyone because of racial animus.
“He made it crystal clear that these views he expressed, which are hateful and mean, are not who he is,” Mertz said.
However, Judge Liam O’Grady ruled that the term hate crime was appropriate, saying his behavior and his association with well-known white rulers “demonstrated how far you have come and how aligned you have been with this group.”
But he attributed Kelley to his youth, his renunciation of racism and mental health deficiencies by giving him a sentence of 33 months that was lower than the 51 to 60 month guidelines.
Raj Parekh, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, whose office prosecuted the case, said in a statement: “Swatting attacks are serious crimes that disrupt the operations of local emergency agencies, take first responders away from real emergencies and “puts victims at risk … EDVA will continue to bring to justice those who threaten public safety with this looming fraud, especially if the threats are motivated by racial or religious animus.”