Idaho man charged with federal hate crime in fatal beating of gay man

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A southwestern Idaho man has been charged with a federal hate crime after prosecutors said he lured a gay man to a remote location and then badly beat him, causing the man's death.


Twenty-three-year-old Kelly Schneider of Nampa was indicted by a grand jury earlier this month, but the case was kept under seal until he was taken into federal custody, U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson said in a prepared statement. Schneider is set to be arraigned on Tuesday.

Schneider has already pleaded not guilty in a first-degree murder charge in Idaho state court in connection with the death of 49-year-old Steven Nelson, also of Nampa. State prosecutors say Schneider posed as an escort on the website Backpage in order to rob those who responded to his ad.