Oregon man pleads guilty to hate crimes against synagogue

Adam Braun admitted on Tuesday to defacing a Jewish synagogue in western Oregon several times in the last two years, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The 34-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts of intentionally defacing a synagogue and one count of attempting to damage a synagogue because of its status as a place of worship for Jewish people. Braun will face up to one year in prison for each charge, along with fines and restitution, the DOJ said.

What did he write? Braun spray-painted graffiti on the Temple Beth Israel synagogue in Eugene on Sept. 10 and 11, 2023. He painted the number 1377 on the synagogue, which he admitted was an homage to the white supremacist number 1488, which references Adolf Hitler. Months later in January 2024, Braun attempted to damage the synagogue's glass doors with a ball-peen hammer but stopped upon realizing surveillance cameras were recording him. He then moved to another area of the property and spray-painted the words, “White Power.”

Dig deeper: Read Andrée Seu Peterson’s report in WORLD Magazine examining why Jews have faced so much hate throughout history.