Eugene weekly., October 06, 2016, Page 11, Image 11

NEWS
BY CAMILLA MORTENSEN
• Great egrets with their all-white plumage are drifting back
into the Willamette Valley for the winter. We see them around Fern
Ridge, in oaks and wetlands along the Long Tom River, about the
same size as the great blue heron. Wildlife biologists tell us more
have been coming here, but they don’t know why. Plume hunting
for women’s hats nearly wiped out this beautiful bird, but the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1913 saved them.
SPRINGFIELD POLICE
ARREST JIMMY MARR
PHOTO: JENNEFER HARPER
ARREST OF RACIST TRIGGERS
FREE SPEECH DEBATE
M
any of those participating in a Stop
Hate! rally in Springfield Sept. 29 were
greeted by a loudspeaker blaring from
the roof of the home of well-known rac-
ist and anti-Semite Jimmy Marr. Marr
was blasting a speech proclaiming the wonders of
hate. He was arrested for disorderly conduct in the
second degree.
Marr’s arrest has spurred a public debate on
freedom of speech, with some questioning if Marr
was arrested for hate speech, which is not a crime.
However, Springfield police Sgt. Brian Humphreys
says, “Marr was arrested for disorderly conduct
2 (state statute) based on making ‘unreasonable
noise’ and his intentions to ‘disturb a lawful as-
sembly’ as defined by statute.”
The permitted rally, put on by the Community
Alliance of Lane County, Standing Up for Racial
Justice and the NAACP as well as the Springfield
Alliance for Equality and Respect outside Willa-
malane Center, was “in reaction to increasing lev-
els of racist, xenophobic, homophobic, Islamopho-
bic, anti-Semitic and classist activity happening in
Lane County,” the Community Alliance of Lane
County said in its notice about the rally.
“There have been more Confederate flags seen
in the area, vandalism targeting Asian owned
businesses, a truck driving around with neo-Nazi
and white supremacist messages on it and more,”
CALC noted.
Marr is the owner and driver of the truck, a Toy-
ota Tacoma emblazoned with neo-Nazi messages
(he offensively refers to it as a “rice burner” on
his Twitter posts). He has made himself notorious
over the years, appearing to seek headlines and at-
tention, with messages such as “Diversity is white
genocide,” “Trump: Do the white thing,” “Jew lies
matter” and more. His Twitter handle is @geno-
cideJimmy.
Jennefer Harper, a CodePink activist, took pho-
tos of the arrest and says she was walking to the
rally when she encountered Marr’s house where
he was blasting offensive speech such as “hate is
good” from a loudspeaker on his roof. Harper has
identified the speech as the words of white nation-
alist Kai Murros, “On Hate.”
According to the Springfield Police Department,
“In retaliation to the gathering, Marr installed a
very large amplified speaker on the rooftop of his
area home. Marr then played a pro-hatred message
on a loop, which repeated itself upon conclusion.
The amplified message of hate could be heard for
several blocks, attracting approximately 30 people
who were upset by the volume of the recording,
including many of Marr’s neighbors and members
of the assembly.”
After “repeated attempts to contact Marr at his
residence” without success, the Springfield Fire
Department assisted officers with the removal
of the speaker from Marr’s roof, SPD said. Marr
then left his house and told police that he was
“trying to get his message out to people.” He was
subsequently arrested.
Local attorney Mike Arnold, known for his ini-
tial representation of Malheur occupier Ammon
Bundy, reached out to Marr on Twitter, offering
to represent him, “You are POS [piece of shit] for
views but disorderly conduct is unconst[itutional]
for words w/o actions,” Arnold wrote. “Call for
pro bono help.”
Arnold is now representing Marr. Arnold tells
EW that referring to Marr as POS in his tweet is
“not the client acquisition technique favored by
most lawyers,” but says that is the point of the case
— the issue is the fundamental right to freedom of
speech, not whether one likes what he says, adding
that he despises Marr’s views.
He says his firm was criticized for offering to
defend Bundy pro bono as well “because people
disagree with him,” but he says it is an attorney’s
duty to represent unpopular defenses. “Knowing
Lane County, this is about as unpopular as it gets,”
he says. He adds, “I fear a Trump regime. We don’t
get to pick and choose which constitutional right
that we like.”
Arnold says hate is best defeated not by restrict-
ing someone’s speech — saying it was likely the
content of the speech Marr was playing that led
to his arrest. “The only remedy for hateful speech
like this is more speech; it’s uncomfortable living
in a democracy sometimes.”
Longtime activist Alley Valkyrie, one of many
to weigh in on the free speech issue on social me-
dia, tells EW, “I don’t think that a racist’s ‘right to
free speech’ in public should be more important
than the right of marginalized people to not live
in fear.” She says, “Hate speech is a form of vio-
lence.”
Humphreys of the Springfield police says of
Marr’s arrest, “The nature of his recording, while
obnoxious and offensive to many on scene, was
not influential.”
• “Talk, talk, talk,” as Chuck Sheketoff put it, has been the only
solution put forward in Oregon since Measure 5, the property tax
limitation passed some 25 years ago, did such damage to public
education and social services. He was speaking to the City Club of
Eugene on Sept. 30 in defense of Ballot Measure 97, which goes
up or down in next month’s election. A founder of the Oregon Center
for Public Policy, Sheketoff says no better proposal has come
forward yet and none is in sight. He mentioned the hours of talk
former governor John Kitzhaber sponsored in Mahonia Hall with no
real tax reform resulting. Paul Nicholson, bike shop owner and
former Eugene City Council member, spoke against 97, calling it
“badly drafted … we need better legislation.” Like Chuck and the
legislators we respect, we’re tired of talk. We’re ready to vote.
• Creepy clowns? They’ve reached the Northwest, or we’ve
been told, just in time for Halloween. Eugene police sent out a
press release recently saying the cops “have been getting media
calls regarding the national stories about ‘creepy clowns,’ and are
aware of information online at #Wenotclowninaround.” EPD says,
“Police are also aware of concerns from the public regarding clown
sightings in Oregon, but have not received information to suggest
that there is a credible threat in Eugene.”
• The good news on climate change: the European Union voted
to approve the Paris accord, meaning that the agreement can now
seek to limit greenhouse gas emissions and keep global
temperature increases “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6
Fahrenheit). The bad news: Climate Central, an independent
association of scientists and journalists, just announced that we
passed a point of no return. Atmospheric carbon levels have
permanently passed 400 parts per million, and it looks like they
won’t go down to more friendly levels “ever again for the indefinite
future.”
• Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy is leaving office after 12 years,
and her years of service to the city and also in the Oregon
Legislature were recognized in the U.S. Senate Sept. 14. Sen. Jeff
Merkley addressed President Obama in his remarks, saying, “I have
been particularly impressed by her work to save our environment.”
He goes on to note her work on environmental justice, sustainability
and climate change — Eugene has reduced its city carbon
emissions by 10 percent, Merkley says. He concludes, “We need
more leaders like Mayor Kitty Piercy in office. I thank Mayor Piercy
for her hard work and dedication to public service and wish her the
best in her well-deserved retirement.” It’s good to see moments of
sweetness in a political climate that is otherwise so toxic. Read
Merkley’s full remarks in the Congressional Record here goo.gl/
atLcCR.
SL ANT INCLUDES SHORT OPINION PIECES, OBSERVATIONS AND RUMOR-CHASING
NOTES COMPILED BY THE EW STAFF. HE ARD ANY GOOD RUMORS L ATELY?
CONTAC T EDITOR@EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
eugeneweekly.com • October 6, 2016
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