Oregon

An Oregon man was charged with hate crimes for repeatedly spray painting a Jewish synagogue with antisemitic graffiti.

According to evidence, the defendant spray painted a Jewish synagogue in Eugene, Oregon on four separate occasions with graffiti, some of which used antisemitic symbols and phrases. In January 2024, the defendant was caught on tape preparing to swing a hammer at the glass doors of the temple. When he saw he was being recorded, he moved to a different area and spray-painted “White Power” on the outside of the building.

Detectives searched the defendant’s home and found evidence connecting him to three earlier cases of vandalism at the temple. He was arrested and charged with federal hate crimes in March.

Charges: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/oregon-man-charged-federal-hate-crimes-defacing-synagogue

An Oregon man has been sentenced to over three years in prison for attempting to run over three people with a car in Boise, Idaho. The defendant targeted LGBTQI+ people.

On October 8, 2022, the defendant was at a library in Boise and approached a transgender library employee. He called the woman a slur, punched her in the face, and threatened to stab her.

Four days later, in a public park, the defendant saw two women together and assumed they were lesbians. He shouted threats and slurs at them, then accelerated his car at them. The women jumped out of the way and the defendant hit a car.

The defendant admitted to being responsible for three other instances of anti-LGBTQI+ vandalism and violence in October 2022.

Sentencing: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/oregon-man-sentenced-committing-anti-lgbtqi-assaults

An Oregon man faces up to 45 months in prison after pleading guilty to two federal hate crimes.

On October 8, 2022, the defendant approached a transgender employee of the Boise Public Library, called her a slur, punched her, and threatened to stab her. He then drove his car at a security guard who was attempting to speak with him.

Four days later, while sitting in his car in a public parking lot, the defendant saw two women walking together toward another vehicle. Assuming that the women were lesbians, he began shouting threats and slurs at them, then suddenly accelerated his car toward the women, intending to collide with them. The women jumped out of the path of the oncoming car, which struck another vehicle.

As part of his plea agreement, the defendant also admitted that he was responsible for three other instances of anti-LGBTQI+ vandalism and violence in Boise in early October 2022.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/oregon-man-pleads-guilty-hate-crime-charges-bias-motivated-attacks-boise

Four men have pleaded guilty to hate crime and false statement charges in Washington for assaulting a Black man because of his race. The defendants were members of various white supremacist groups.

On Dec. 8, 2018, the four men entered a bar in Lynnwood, Washington. The men repeatedly gave “Nazi salutes” once inside the bar. After the DJ, a Black man, objected to the men touching his DJ equipment, the defendants attacked him while shouting racial slurs. Bystanders, who attempted to intervene, were also assaulted.

The hate crime carries a penalty of up to ten years in prison.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/four-washington-state-men-sentenced-hate-crime-and-false-statement-charges-after-racially

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/idaho-white-supremacist-who-assaulted-black-man-pleads-guilty-hate-crime-and-false-statement

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/oregon-white-supremacist-pleads-guilty-hate-crime-and-false-statement-charges-connection

A jury sentenced an Oregon white supremacist to four years in prison for mailing threats to a former teacher because of her sexual orientation.

Between December 2020 and May 2021, the man sent two threatening letters. The first contained a printout of what appeared to be a dead, mutilated woman. Handwriting on the image included racial and sexual orientation slurs and stated, “What I’d like to do to you.” The second letter contained another photograph of a decapitated woman in a black trunk.

After identifying fingerprints on the letters, in May 2021, the FBI searched the defendant’s house. Agents found body armor, weapons, and a black trunk like the one depicted in his second letter. The house contained literature and handbooks on death, dismemberment, murder, torture, and sexually-motivated killings. Investigators also found evidence that the defendant was a white supremacist, and that he ran a white supremacist website. On January 4, 2022, the defendant pled guilty to two counts of mailing threatening communications.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/eugene-white-supremacist-sentenced-federal-prison-mailing-threatening-communications

Federal prosecutors charged an Oregon man with a hate crime for using the internet to target and assault a gay man. The complaint alleges that he tried to kill the victim.

According to court documents, the defendant met his victim using Grindr, a social media and networking app designed for gay men. On July 5, after agreeing to meet, he entered the victim’s apartment and beat him with a wooden club. The victim’s injuries were life-threatening.

In the weeks before the attack, the defendant searched for violent anti-gay material on the internet. He also searched for suggestions about getting away with murder. The defendant purchased the weapon and other materials used in the attack online.

Charges contained in a criminal complaint are serious. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/oregon-man-charged-federal-hate-crime-after-attacking-gay-man

A Colorado man was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison for a federal hate crime after attempting to kill a Black man in an Oregon restaurant.

On December 21, 2019, the defendant walked into a fast food restaurant where the victim was waiting to meet with the restaurant manager about a job. The defendant approached the victim from behind and stabbed him twice in the neck. The victim was able to prevent the defendant from stabbing him again and eventually broke free from his grip.

The defendant later admitted that he was trying to kill the man because he was Black.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/colorado-man-sentenced-16-years-federal-prison-unprovoked-stabbing-black-man

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/colorado-man-pleads-guilty-federal-hate-crime-after-unprovoked-stabbing-black-man

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/colorado-man-charged-hate-crime-after-unprovoked-stabbing-Black-man

Benjamin Hernandez, of Eugene, Oregon, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release for committing a hate crime targeting St. Mary Catholic Church in Eugene in September 2018 and illegally possessing ammunition.

Hernandez was escorted from St. Mary Church property on September 9, 2018, following an angry outburst during communion services. Over the following weeks, Hernandez was spotted around the property by security cameras and employees spraying door handles with pepper spray, making threatening gestures towards members of the congregation, and leaving a threatening note coupled with ammunition. As a result, staff and churchgoers were physically injured, frightened, and concerned about their safety.

Hernandez was arrested on September 21, 2018, and pleaded guilty on February 12, 2019, to obstruction or attempted obstruction of persons in the free exercise of their religious beliefs and unlawful possession of ammunition.

Guilty Plea: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/oregon-man-pleads-guilty-federal-hate-crime-threatening-shooting-spree-eugene-church

Sentencing: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/oregon-man-sentenced-15-months-federal-prison-hate-crime-targeting-eugene-church