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Hate strikes
The Campaign for a Hate Free Oregon’s office
is burglarized and vandalized, the HTV Day Center is
burglarized and ransacked and a burglary attempt at the
Just Out office is bungled
Mary Brandon, Portland Police Bureau criminalist dusts for prints at the Campaign for a Hate
Free Oregon office after the June 8 break-in.
by Ellen Hansen
tographs, [at an office burglary] except that this
one is so unusual-the destruction, the vandalism.
This is more than the standard office burglary.
This is personal, in my opinion.”
Also taken were background files on the OCA,
a personal address book, a rolodex, the No On
Eight archive files and insurance papers. The
campaign’s album of press clippings was strewn
about and stomped on.
The police have classified the break-in as a
bias crime. “We’re taking this very seriously,”
said Detective C.W. Jensen of the Bias Crime
Unit. “We’ve contacted Crime Stoppers, who’ve
agreed to help. We want to get this visible.”
The campaign and the police are concerned
about the fate of the donor lists, and are encourag­
ing anyone who receives any hate mail or phone
calls to report them to the police. “Especially if
anyone starts getting calls or letters out of the
blue,” says Det. Jensen. To report a bias crime,
call 911 if it is an emergency, 230-2121 for non­
emergency calls. “If people have any questions,
they can call us at the Bias Crime Unit,” according
to Jensen. That number is 796-3466.
“The police do not yet know who committed
this crime,” according to Peggy Norman, cam­
paign manager. “We hold the Oregon Citizens
Alliance personally responsible for spreading a
climate of hate in which these crimes can flour­
ish,” she declared.
The campaign has decided to become more
visible than before, and has a new headquarters at
4424 NE Glisan, where they've taken "significant
security measures” according to Webster.
“The whole point; whether the computers are
missing, whether toner was thrown everywhere,
the bottom line was to get at us emotionally, to
demoralize us, to slow us down...’’stated Kathleen
Saadat aCHFO steering committee member. “We
are committed, we are determined. There are lots
of us who are committed, who are determined and
we will not let go.”
The Campaign is offering a $ 1,000 reward for
information that leads to the arrest and conviction
of the perpetrators of this crime.
hen Kimberly Webster arrived (the black stuff) from the Xerox machine was
at the office of the Campaign for tossed throughout the offices.
a Hate Free Oregon June 9 at
Office equipment taken included a 486IBM-
7:30 am, the first thing she no­ clone computer with laser printer, Okidata 390L
ticed was the broken window of printer, a second EBM-clone computer, a Macin­
tosh printer,
the front door. “I went in and listened,
to see if two telephones and the fax machine. Burglary of Just Out office bungled
there was anyone in there.” She went down the The computers’ data banks had donor and sup­
On June 9, the night following the break in of
hall and looked in the offices. “There was all this porter lists on them. “It’s almost as if anything CHFO’s office, the building housing iheJust Out
black stuff on the floor. I wondered if it would that would help us keep in touch with the outside office was broken into. The office directly below
ignite.” She ran across the street and called 911. world and our supporters-that’s gone,” said Just Out's was opened with a crow bar. An IBM
Police officers quickly arrived at 1847 E. Webster.
computer was partially dismantled, then the van­
By 9:42 am Portland Police Bureau Criminalist dals left. It is thought by Det. Jensen of the Bias
Burnside. They determined that the offices had
been ransacked, a lot of expensive office equip­ Mary Brandon was dusting for fingerprints and Crime Unit that the break in was a bungled at­
ment stolen, and then as a parting gesture, toner taking photographs. “I normally don’t take pho- tempt to vandalize Just Out’s offices.
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“I have no doubt that the Oregon Citizens
Alliance is indirectly involved. At the very least
the OCA is fostering an atmosphere of hate and
bigotry and giving people permission to perpe­
trate these hate crimes.” says Just Out publisher
Ren6e LaChance. “We're on guard every minute
now. We're scared to be in the office at night, and
we hesitate when someone asks for our address
over the phone. We assume they will try again, so
we are taking every precaution to be secure.”
Future of HIV Day Center threatened
On June 22, the HIV Day Center was broken
into, ransacked and burglarized. The Ecumenical
Ministries of Oregon established the Center in
1990 to serve the needs of people living with HIV
disease. Officials of EMO, staff and clients of the
Center say they are stunned and afraid.
“In a world of discrimination and hatred, the
clients of the HIV Day Center take the safety they
experience at the Center seriously.” says Tina
Tommaso Jennings, “[The break-in] has eroded
their confidence and created pain, suspicion and
fear.”
EMO faces a $60,000 mortgage payment on
the Center in August, and the break-in has totally
disrupted its fundraising efforts. “Meeting this
obligation looks bleak,” says the Rev. Rodney
Page, executive director of EMO.
The thieves stole a stereo, video cassette re­
corder, $250 in petty cash and dismantled a com­
puter and abandoned it. They also took the
rolodexes, and dumped all the drawers and files
on the floor.
The Center needs friends to clean-up, repair,
replace and rebuild to recreate a safe space for
people with HIV disease.
The community responds
Many organizations have started community
meetings to talk about security concerns as a
result of these break-ins. Tension in the gay and
lesbian community seems to be on the rise. As
Suzanne Pharr pointed out at one of the meetings,
“It’s not just the violence, it’s the threat of vio­
lence that stops and controls people.”
Detectives C.W. Jensen and Shirley Zahler of
the Portland Police bureau’s Bias Crime Unit
have asked people to contact them directly at
796-3466 if they have received harassing phone
calls or mail. This would apply especially for
people who donated money to the campaign and
whose names were in the campaign’s files and if
the harassment started after the June 8 break in.