How white supremacists have 'taken over' a once-liberal Oregon college town with hate crimes on the rise and swastikas plastered over the walls
Daily Mail
December 31, 2017
A once-liberal Oregon college town has been overcome with crime and emboldened groups of white supremacists.
The Oregonian spoke recently with several residents in the city of Eugene about the shocking and not-so-secret neo-Nazi extremists who have made their name known across the community.
Some of the individuals include two who are said to be the 'most prominent' men - Jacob Laskey and Jimmy Marr.
'Those guys have been hanging around the movement for years,' Carla Hill, investigative researcher for the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism told the local newspaper.
Along with other supporters, she said Laskey and Marr see an 'opportunity to make changes they dream of.'
‘They see this as this is their time,' Hill explained, while adding that Marr has been deemed 'Genocide Jimmy' by other white supremacy supporters.
On Holocaust Remembrance Day in January, supporters gathered outside Marr's home, where swastika flags flew near an elementary school, along with sign that said, 'The Holocaust is Hokum,' The Oregonian reports.
'I'll tell you this right now ... I'm interested in the counter-extermination of the Jews,' Marr told the newspaper during an interview inside his home.
As for Laskey, he was released from jail in 2015 after 11 years behind bars for tossing 'swastika-etched bricks through Temple Beth Israel' synagogue in the city.
During his time in prison, he wrote books, and one of them about his theory that the 'Holocaust was a hoax.'
Now, Laskey said he has moved on from his past, but hasn't denied his support.
'Yes, I'm proud of my race. Yes, I'm proud of my heritage,' Laskey said. 'I'm not a fascist. I'm an American. Why can't we put America first?'
A woman working in the cannabis industry in the area, Bethany Sherman, was also accused of having a role in the racist group.
In honor of Adolf Hitler's birthday, one resident alleged Sherman baked 'cookies in the shape of swastikas,' the newspaper said.
Laskey previously praised Sherman on his YouTube channel and said she 'is a hero because she doesn't have white guilt.'
Shortly after the allegations, Sherman was forced to close down her marijuana testing lab after she was reproved by customers and other community members.
Another local business owner, who does not associate with the group, said she has been a target of hate and vandalism after she banned a group of individuals who openly expressed the white supremacist views from her bar.
Old Nick's Pub owner, Emily Nyman, told the newspaper that a swastika was painted outside her business with a message that said: 'We're watching you.'
Nyman, a supporter of the anti-fascist movement, said she was forced to hire a lawyer and contact the FBI after she was harassed online.
Along with her own protection, Nyman said she wishes to help others in Eugene - particularly ethnic minority groups.
'As a white businesswoman who has less to fear I feel like I owe it to the people in my community who can't speak out,' Nyman said.
Hate crimes in the city of Eugene went up by 44 since 2016 - as city officials recorded a total of 60 in 2017.
'Vandalism and graffiti made up 20 percent of the hate crimes reported between January and October,' The Oregonian reports.
'This year has seen a flurry of racist and anti-Semitic activity across the city. Vandals have struck cars, storefronts and public property with painted swastikas.
'Repugnant messages and symbols have defaced schools, churches and the federal courthouse.'
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