A Burleson man who allegedly idolized the Columbine High School shooters has been sentenced to federal prison for bomb-building and child pornography.
As federal prosecutors put it, 22-year-old Noah Calderon admired the 1999 gunmen who committed mass murder at Columbine High School in Colorado. In March, Calderon was into bomb-building, getting his parts from websites. And one day he blew up one of the bombs.
That explosion caught the attention of neighbors and the FBI.
According to court documents, the FBI was alerted to SnapChat images allegedly posted by Mr. Calderon in October 2022. In the posts, Mr. Calderon allegedly shared images of homemade explosives, including one marked “SS” – an apparent reference to the infamous Nazi paramilitary organization.
Now a federal judge has sentenced Calderon to 14 years in federal prison to be followed by 30 years of Government Supervision for his guilty plea to weapons and child porn charges.
“This defendant exhibited several indicators of potential violence: a fascination with mass shooters, an obsession with weapons, and hatred towards a protected class. What’s worse, he had allegedly progressed from ideation to planning and preparation,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. “In apprehending Mr. Calderon, we may have averted mass tragedy. We are especially grateful to the tipster who alerted law enforcement to Mr. Calderon’s concerning social media posts."
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