White supremacist arrested for threatening federal jury in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial

A self-proclaimed white supremacist was arrested on criminal charges related to his alleged obstruction and witness tampering in the federal trial of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.

Hardy Carroll Lloyd, 45, was taken into custody early Thursday morning.

According to the criminal complaint, Lloyd made online comments about the federal hate crimes trial of Robert Bowers, the Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooter. Lloyd, a self-proclaimed “reverend” of a white supremacy movement, made threatening social media posts, website comments, and emails toward the jury and witnesses during the trial. Federal agents say he was calling on the jury to “free Bowers.” He’s also accused of posting the identity of a witness online to a page labeled “enemies.”

“His rhetoric and his messages escalated during the trial and he was hyper-focused on the trial. He believed the defendant is innocent and he’s a supporter of the defendant. That was really hard to see and hard to read,” said Shawn Brokos, the Director of Community Security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

Lloyd, who used to live in Crafton, also placed or had others place stickers in predominantly Jewish areas of Pittsburgh, directing people to the website containing his threats and antisemitic messages.

“Jury trials are a hallmark of the American justice system and attempts to intimidate witnesses or jurors will be met with a strong response,” said United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld in a release. “The use of hateful threats in an effort to undermine a trial is especially troubling.”

Lloyd is charged with obstruction of the due administration of justice, transmitting threats in interstate and foreign commerce and witness tampering. He faces up to ten years in prison for the obstruction charge, up to five years for the threats charge, and up to 20 in prison for the tampering charge.

“The arrest of Hardy Lloyd has been a long time coming. He’s been somebody who’s been a threat to the Jewish community here in Pittsburgh and other Jewish communities across the country, as well as the Pittsburgh community at large,” Brokos said.

The FBI is investigating.

“We know he had a propensity for violence. We know he’s been in prison for many years for gun violations,” said Brad Orsini, a former FBI agent and a National Security Advisor for Secure Community Network.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and Secure Community Network applauded the arrest, saying in the past month alone, Lloyd has targeted multiple organizations and individuals, including their own staff members as well as families and victims from the 2018 massacre.

“We would probably have three to four postings a day from Hardy Lloyd that was shared immediately, so as soon as our analysts would identify a post, we would push it on to make sure law enforcement got that information,” Orsini said.

They said that since his 2020 release from prison and a halfway house, the alleged offender was being closely monitored.

“The offender in this case targeted the Jewish community for years with hate, vitriol, and calls for violence. He is well known to the Jewish community. He is also well known to the security professionals at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and SCN, and to the members of law enforcement. He can now become well known – once again – to those in our penal system,” said SCN National Director and CEO Michael Masters in a release. “Through our strong coordination, the Federation and SCN have worked to support law enforcement as they diligently undertook this sensitive investigation; we commend and thank the members of law enforcement for their ongoing and thorough work on behalf of the safety and security of the Jewish community. Religious freedom is a bedrock principle in our nation and we will not allow any individual to undermine it through threatening violence on a member of the Jewish community, or any faith-based community, without repercussion. The offender sought to terrorize the community. We now seek justice and accountability.”

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