Former ODU student who joined white supremacists sentenced to 3 years for fake bomb threats

FALLS CHURCH — A former Old Dominion University student who joined up with white supremacists in a swatting conspiracy that targeted a Black church, his own university and a Cabinet officer, among others, was sentenced to nearly three years in prison Monday.

The 33-month sentence for John William Kirby Kelley, 20, of Vienna, Virginia, essentially splits the difference between the five-year term sought by prosecutors and the 14-month sentence of time served requested by his lawyers.

Kelley pleaded guilty to hosting an internet chatroom in which he and others called in fake bomb threats and attacks on more than 100 different targets, many of which were targeted because of racial or religious animus.

Among those in the conspiracy was a founder of Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi hate group. That individual, John C. Denton of Montgomery, Texas, has also pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

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