A self-described neo-Nazi and white supremacist was sentenced to nearly 20 years in federal prison Friday for plotting to blow up a Pueblo synagogue, according to a release from the Justice Department.

Richard Holzer, 28, was given 235 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release, officials said. Holzer had already pleaded guilty to attempting to obstruct the free exercise of religious beliefs with the attempted use of explosives — a hate crime — for planning to bomb the Temple Emanuel Synagogue in Pueblo.

He also pleaded guilty to “attempting to maliciously damage and destroy, by means of fire and explosives, a building used in interstate commerce,” the release said.

“Today’s sentence is another step forward in our on-going fight against extremism,” U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn said.

Holzer’s arrest was the culmination of an investigation and sting operation conducted by the FBI with the assistance of the Pueblo Police Department and Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, the release said.

Holzer regularly expressed his white supremacist beliefs on social media and told several people that he wanted to make “a move for our race” by bombing the 120-year-old temple, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

An undercover FBI agent contacted Holzer, who sent pictures of himself holding assault weapons and said he was “getting ready for RAHOWA,” short for “racial holy war.” Undercover agents tracked Holzer’s movements for months while he told associates about his plans and visited the synagogue to watch the worshipers. Holzer repeatedly told agents that he hated Jews and wanted to bomb the synagogue, the release stated.

On Nov. 1, 2019, undercover agents gave Holzer inert explosives, including two pipe bombs and 14 sticks of dynamite. When Holzer told the agents that he intended to use the explosives to attack the temple, he was arrested.

The Justice Department said that Holzer’s actions constituted domestic terrorism.

“The department has combatted hate-based violent extremism and domestic terrorism since our inception,” Acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin said. “Today, there is no higher priority.”