EUGENE, Ore. (KTVZ) — A Eugene man pleaded guilty to three federal hate crimes charges Tuesday for vandalizing a Eugene synagogue multiple times, federal prosecutors said.

Adam Edward Braun, 34, pleaded guilty to two counts of willfully defacing a synagogue and one count of attempting to destroy religious property because it was a place of religious worship for the Jewish people.

According to court documents, between September 2023 and January 2024, Braun intentionally defaced Temple Beth Israel, a Jewish synagogue in Eugene, by repeatedly targeting the synagogue with graffiti, some of which used anti-Semitic symbols and phrases.

Braun’s pattern of behavior culminated in the early morning hours of January 14, 2024, when he traveled to Temple Beth Israel with a hammer and prepared to knock on the synagogue’s glass doors. Braun stopped when he saw he was being recorded by a surveillance camera, then moved to another area of ​​the property and used spray paint to write “White Power” in large letters on the outside of the building, prosecutors said.

On January 31, officers from the Eugene Police Department, with assistance from the FBI, executed a state search warrant on Braun’s Eugene residence. Investigators found more evidence linking Braun to the attacks on Temple Beth Israel, along with several articles and writings belonging to Braun that were consistent with anti-Semitic beliefs and biases.

Braun was initially charged in the criminal complaint on March 4. Later, on May 9, he was charged in a criminal information with five counts of defacing and attempting to deface religious property because it was a place of religious worship for Jews.

Braun faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison, a $100,000 fine and one year of supervised release on each count. He is scheduled to be sentenced on February 18, 2025, before U.S. District Court Judge Michael J. McShane.

As part of the plea agreement, Braun agreed to pay full restitution to the victim.

This case was investigated by the FBI with the assistance of the Eugene Police Department. Gavin W. Bruce, Assistant District Attorney for the District of Oregon, and Cameron A. Bell, Trial Attorney for the Criminal Division of the Civil Rights Division, are prosecuting the case.