Man sentenced to 7 months for hate crime at Temple Beth Shalom

SPOKANE, Wash. — A 44-year-old man will spend seven months behind bars for vandalizing a Spokane synagogue with swastikas.

“I feel bad. I do apologize to the Jewish community. It was publicity,” Raymond Bryant said in court Friday.

Bryant took a plea deal and entered a guilty plea Friday.

He was arrested for spray-painting Nazi symbols on the side of Temple Beth Shalom in February. Police said he was caught on surveillance cameras committing the crime and was recognized by members of the synagogue, who said he had harassed them before.

Bryant was a member of the white supremacist group 14First and in court Friday said he vandalized the temple as a way to “recruit.” A self-proclaimed president of the group told 4 News Now in February that Bryant was kicked out of the group because they do not condone illegal actions.

14First is the group that routinely leaves racist flyers on cars in the Spokane area.

In addition to his seven-month sentence, Bryant cannot go within 1,000 feet of the temple for five years.

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