Man charged with federal hate crime over antisemitic graffiti

A 34-year-old Eugene man has been arrested and charged with a federal hate crime in connection to multiple incidents of antisemitic graffiti at Temple Beth Israel Synagogue.

According to a U.S. District Court in Eugene, Adam Braun, 34, was charged by federal criminal complaint for intentionally defacing a synagogue because it was a place of religious worship for Jewish people.

A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, which means Braun is innocent until proven guilty.

Over five months, Braun is accused of targeting the synagogue on four separate occasions with graffiti depicting antisemitic symbols and phrases.

On Jan 14, Braun traveled to Temple Beth Israel with a hammer and prepared to swing at the glass doors of the synagogue, according to court records.

Once Braun saw he was being recorded by a surveillance camera, he stopped and moved to a different section of the building where he used spray paint to write “White Power” in large letters on an exterior wall, prosecutors allege.

Through a quality facial shot taken by a security camera at the Temple from Jan. 14, detectives with Eugene Police identified Braun as the suspect.

On Jan. 31, officers with the Eugene Police Department and the FBI executed a search warrant at Braun’s home where they discovered a “White Power” flag, a copy of “Mein Kempf” by Adolf Hitler, a Nazi flag and Ku Klux Klan costumes, according to the police.

Braun was arrested by Eugene Police for the crime in early February and charged with four counts of bias crime in the second degree. He was released by a conditional agreement on Feb. 1.

The FBI arrested Braun nn Thursday without incident, and he later made his first appearance in federal court before a U.S. Magistrate Judge.

He was ordered detained pending further court proceedings.