Fremont Co. man accused of having beliefs consist with Nazism pleads guilty to federal gun charge

FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) –- A Fremont County man charged federally for possessing a gun in violation of federal law has pleaded guilty to that charge. However, it was allegations of what Chad Keith may have been planning to do with multiple guns and rural Fremont County property that his attorneys are now disputing.

Court documents show the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) claims that 41-year-old Chad Keith described himself as both a “National Socialist” and a Nazi.

The FBI alleged in a federal complaint filed in May 2023, that Keith told a confidential source who was working for the FBI that Keith wanted to start a school on his rural property in Cotopaxi. The school would teach various skills, including weapons training, and instill ideology consistent with white supremacy, federal court documents say. Keith allegedly told the source, who was close to Keith, that he had specific plans for the school, including an anti-Semitic curriculum.

After pleading guilty, Keith is facing between 21 to 27 months in federal prison. Now, Keith's attorneys are telling the judge that many of the allegations levied against him about his motives are entirely untrue.

In a pre-sentence investigation document the federal government says Keith was "planning to commit violence against preppers, law enforcement, and/or veterans in and around Westcliffe, Colorado in furtherance of establishment of an alliance of white supremacist extremist groups."

In response, Keith's attorney says the FBI received this information from an "unreliable and uncorroborated tip" from a confidential informant who knew Keith and agreed to work with federal investigators to nab him.

In an FBI report from 2020, Keith is accused of planning an alliance between various extremist groups "to include Golden State Skinheads from California, Hammerskins from Oregon, Hell’s Angels, and the Mexican National Front."

Keith's attorney claims their three-year investigation into him provided corroboration between Kieth and these various extremist groups.

Keith's attorney also disputes that Keith had any desire to start a school on his rural property in Cotopaxi that would teach beliefs consistent with Nazism or an anti-semitic curriculum. Keith's attorney claims the mission of the school was to teach people how to survive and homestead in remote
areas.

In an FBI interview with a young man Keith was mentoring, that young man told them the curriculum for the future school was to include teaching kids "how to be a man and condition the mind." He added that Keith "taught him practical skills including construction, hunting and trapping, leadership, and general survival skills."

Keith's attorney says none of these allegations should be included in the pre-sentence investigation, which judges review before making a determination on sentencing someone to federal prison time.

Keith does not dispute that he possessed weapons in violation of federal law, hence why he pleaded guilty. His attorney is asking for the allegations of his beliefs and intentions to be removed from the investigation report and not be used at sentencing.

Chad Keith will be sentenced on January 30 at 3 P.M.