‘Reverend’ of White Supremacy Pleads Guilty to Obstruction In Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooter Case

Hardy Lloyd, a self-identified “reverend” of white supremacy who called Pittsburgh synagogue shooter a “lone wolf hero” for his attack that killed 11 at the Tree of Life in 2018, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to obstructing the federal hate crime trial of shooter Robert Bowers, Ella Lee reports for The Hill. During the trial, Lloyd wrote directed threats toward jurors and witnesses in the Bowers case, and threatened to post jurors’ addresses and other private information on his website’s “enemies list.” As part of his plea, Lloyd admitted that he picked targets for his harassment “due to the actual or perceived Jewish religion of the witnesses and the Bowers victims.”

Bowers was convicted on 63 counts in the case against him and a jury has recommended a death sentence. Merrick Garland described the attack as “the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history.” Lloyd’s guilty plea “underscores that anyone who attempts to obstruct a federal trial by threatening or intimidating jurors or witnesses will be met with the full force of the Justice Department,” Garland said. If accepted, Lloyd will spend 78 months in jail as part of his plea agreement with the Justice Department.