Oregon man charged with ‘repeatedly’ defacing Reconstructionist synagogue

Adam Edward Braun, 34, was charged with hate crimes for allegedly defacing a Reconstructionist synagogue in Eugene, Ore., four times “because it was a place of religious worship for Jewish people,” the U.S. Justice Department said.

Between August 2023 and January 2024, Braun is accused of targeting Temple Beth Israel “with graffiti, some of which used antisemitic symbols and phrases,” the department stated.

“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,” it added. “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.”

FBI and Eugene Police Department officers executed a search warrant at Braun’s Eugene home on Jan. 31. They found “multiple pieces of evidence connecting Braun to the attacks on Temple Beth Israel,” according to the Justice Department. “Investigators also found several items and writings belonging to Braun that were consistent with antisemitic beliefs and biases.”

The latter reportedly included a white Ku Klux Klan robe, a black Nazi flag and a copy of Mein Kampf.