This story originally appeared in the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, with which the Pittsburgh Union Progress collaborated to cover the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial.
Hardy Carroll Lloyd will again spend time in a federal prison.
The white supremacist, who often refers to himself by the unearned monikers “reverend” and “doctor,” pled guilty on Tuesday in a federal courtroom in the Northern District of West Virginia.
Formerly of Dormont, Lee was living in Follansbee, West Virginia, on Aug. 10, when he was arrested on charges of obstruction of the due administration of justice, transmitting threats in interstate and foreign commerce and witness tampering.
All of the charges were related to the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter trial.
According to the Department of Justice, Lloyd wrote threatening social media posts, website comments and emails directed against the jury and witnesses during the trial. He also placed, or had others place, stickers and flyers in predominantly Jewish areas of Pittsburgh — which directed people to a white supremacist website he runs — containing threats and antisemitic messages.
“Hardy Lloyd attempted to obstruct the federal hate crimes trial of the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said. “His 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.”
The binding plea agreement includes a 78-month jail sentence and not more than three years of supervised release. The judge in the case is not bound by that agreement when sentencing Lloyd in December, although Shawn Brokos, the director of community security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, said judges typically honor the binding agreements.
Lloyd faced up to 10 years in prison for the obstruction charge, up to five years for the threats charge and up to 20 years in prison for the tampering charge.
Lloyd has been in and out of prison since 2004, when he was arrested for killing his girlfriend in Squirrel Hill. Acquitted of the murder, he was found guilty of firearm possession and sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Lloyd bragged about the murder and taunted the victim’s family when he was released.
In 2017, he was sentenced to 13 months in prison and nine months of supervised release for using public computers at libraries in Mt. Lebanon and Dormont to order martial arts weapons and to watch videos of women being abused. He was also recorded giving the Nazi salute at a Mt. Lebanon protest and distributing flyers in the city’s East End.
On Oct. 6, 2020, Lloyd was released from prison after serving 24 months for violating his probation, which prohibited him from accessing social media or communicating with anyone to promote terrorism. He relocated to Austin, Texas.
In 2022, the Texas Department of Public Safety offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to Lloyd’s arrest after he posted a series of threatening comments online promising to carry a firearm onto the Texas State Capitol grounds.
“This is another great day for justice,” Brokos said. “We are in grateful appreciation of our partnership with law enforcement and the community members who worked so tirelessly to bring Lloyd to justice.”
