An Oregon man has been charged with hate crimes for intentionally defacing a synagogue in Eugene, Oregon, several times over the course of five months.
Adam Edward Braun, 34, of Eugene, has been charged by criminal complaint with intentionally defacing a synagogue because it was a place of religious worship for Jewish people.
According to court documents, on four separate occasions between August 2023 and January 2024, Braun is alleged to have intentionally defaced Temple Beth Israel, a Jewish synagogue in Eugene, by repeatedly targeting the synagogue with graffiti, some of which used antisemitic symbols and phrases. Court documents describe how Braun’s pattern of behavior culminated in the early morning hours of Jan. 14, when Braun traveled to Temple Beth Israel with a hammer and prepared to swing at the glass doors of the synagogue. Braun stopped when he saw that he was being recorded by surveillance camera, and he then moved to a different area of the property and used spray paint to write “White Power” in large letters on the building’s exterior.
On Jan. 31, officers from the Eugene Police Department, with assistance from the FBI, executed a state search warrant on Braun’s Eugene residence and located multiple pieces of evidence connecting Braun to the attacks on Temple Beth Israel. Investigators also found several items and writings belonging to Braun that were consistent with antisemitic beliefs and biases.
Braun was arrested today without incident by the FBI and made his first appearance in federal court before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. He was ordered detained pending further court proceedings.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Natalie K. Wight for the District of Oregon and Acting Special Agent in Charge Aubree Schwartz of the FBI Portland Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Portland Field Office investigated the case with assistance from the Eugene Police Department.
Trial Attorney Cameron A. Bell of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gavin W. Bruce for the District of Oregon are prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.