Oregon Man Arrested For Painting Swastika On Memorial Of Black Man Who Died In Police Custody

A white Oregon man has been charged with a hate crime after allegedly spray painting a Nazi swastika on the memorial of a Black man who died in police custody.

Collin Michael Williams was arrested by Oregon City police on Thursday on suspicion of vandalizing the memorial of Jermelle Madison, Jr., who recently died at 23 while he was being held in Clackamas County Jail. Williams allegedly filmed himself vandalizing the memorial and bragged about it online using an assumed name, according to KOIN.

"Basically somebody went and damaged the memorial that had been put up, kicked over candles and also painted a swastika on the ground near the memorial," Oregon City Police Sgt. David Edwins told the outlet "The person actually did brag about it... Stating 'I unenthusiastically commit a hate crime,' ... which is alarming."

Police first received reports of the incident on Wednesday. An investigation of local surveillance footage resulted in Williams being identified and arrested.

In addition to painting the swastika, police say Williams knocked over candles and damaged flowers and pictures that had been left as part of the sidewalk memorial.

Prosecutors reportedly laid out a history of "dangerous radical thinking" by Williams during a Friday court hearing, alleging that his cell phone contained evidence that he had made several death threats against Oregon Governor Kate Brown.

Williams, 20, was charged with a bias crime, abuse of a memorial and criminal mischief. His bail was set at $100,000 and his trial is expected to begin on October 7.

Multiple local reports indicate that Williams worked as surveyor for Clackamas County. It was not clear whether he was still a county employee after being arrested and charged.

Newsweek reached out to Clackamas County for comment.

Madison died on July 3, days after he was found unresponsive in his jail cell following a suicide attempt. His family have noted that he was suffering from clear mental health issues and have questioned why the jail did not do more to prevent his death given his fragile mental state. Madison's death is currently under investigation.

Lynette Madison, Jermelle's grandmother, was reportedly shocked to learn that his memorial had been vandalized with Nazi iconography days after a vigil was held in his memory and to raise awareness of the circumstances surrounding his death.

"What was your life about that you hate somebody that's already dead? 'Cause they're Black? I don't understand that," she told KOIN. "We had that vigil and it broke my heart that somebody — I mean, it's just pictures, it's just flowers, it's candles. Why would somebody be hateful?"