A 41-year-old man facing a weapons charge in federal court is being held without bond after a judge ruled that he’s a flight risk and a community threat.
Chad Edward Keith, who is charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, allegedly had ten firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at his Colorado Springs home, according to a criminal complaint against him.
The complaint, filed by an FBI investigator assigned to a Joint Terrorism Task Force, claims that Keith is a white supremacist and a Nazi with plans of operating a “white private community” school for teenagers, on a 2.6-acre property he owns near Cotopaxi that would include “hard core weapons training” and an “anti-Semitic curriculum.”
In 2003, Keith pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of possessing an unregistered firearm — a destructive device. He was sentenced to 48 months in prison.
The current complaint is based, in part, on information from a paid FBI informant who met Keith in May 2022.
Among the weapons Keith allegedly possessed and fired at his Fremont County property is a Fusil Automatique Leger (FAL), a .308 caliber semi-automatic rifle that can fire 650 to 700 rounds in a minute. Keith traded an AR15 rifle, according to the complaint, to possess the FAL.
On the mountain property, there are multiple bunkers and underground bunkers, according to the complaint, with multiple weapons buried on the grounds. Keith told the informant, described in the court document as a Confidential Human Source, that he has “serious (expletive) concerns” that he would “absolutely” die for.
Keith was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 17.
The defendant’s “alleged anti-Semitic and white supremacist beliefs – and alarming apparent plans of action – are deeply concerning,” said Scott Levin, Anti-Defamation League Mountain States regional director, in a news release. “We are grateful to law enforcement for taking this case seriously and for taking steps to prevent potential future violence.”
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kristen L. Mix has ruled that Keith be held without bond because he is deemed a flight risk and along with concerns for community safety.
According to an Order for Detention, entered by Mix in the ongoing case, investigators found “photographs of current members of Congress with the Star of David on their foreheads” at Keith’s home.
“The Court has concluded that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant and the safety of the community” based on investigators’ findings, according to the order.
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