Oregon Man Charged with Hate Crime for Arson at Mosque

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WASHINGTON—The Justice Department announced today that a federal grand jury in Eugene, Ore., has indicted Cody Crawford, 24, of Corvallis, Ore., on federal hate crime and arson charges for intentionally setting fire to the Salman Alfarisi Islamic Center.

According to the indictment, Crawford is charged with one count of damaging religious property and one count of arson. Crawford allegedly set fire to the mosque during the early morning hours of Nov. 28, 2010, less than two days after authorities arrested an individual in connection with the Portland Christmas Tree Lighting terror plot. The indictment alleges that Crawford set the fire because of the race, color, or ethnic characteristics of individuals associated with the mosque.

“Burning a house of worship because of hatred toward members of one religion is not just an attack on that religion; it is an attack on our core American values,” said Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez of the Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division will aggressively protect the rights of all persons to worship without fear of violence or intimidation.”

“Freedom of religion is essential to who we are as Americans,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Dwight C. Holton. “We will not tolerate attacks based on faith.”

“The ability to live, work, and worship freely, without fear or intimidation, is the very foundation of our society. We cannot allow any person to threaten the rights of those citizens we are sworn to protect,” said Greg Fowler, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon. “Today’s arrest demonstrates our continued commitment to the FBI’s core mission: to protect our community and to protect the rights of all Americans as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.”

If convicted, Crawford faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years in prison.

This case is being investigated by the Portland Division of the FBI, the Corvallis Police Department, and the Corvallis Fire Department, in conjunction with the Benton County District Attorney; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Benton County Sheriff’s Office; and the Monmouth and McMinnville Police Departments. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William E. (Bud) Fitzgerald for the District of Oregon and Trial Attorney Fara Gold of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty

Oregon Man Charged with Hate Crime for Arson at Mosque

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that a federal grand jury in Eugene, Ore., has indicted Cody Crawford, 24, of Corvallis, Ore., on federal hate crime and arson charges for intentionally setting fire to the Salman Alfarisi Islamic Center.

According to the indictment, Crawford is charged with one count of damaging religious property and one count of arson.   Crawford allegedly set fire to the mosque during the early morning hours of Nov. 28, 2010, less than two days after authorities arrested an individual in connection with the Portland Christmas Tree Lighting terror plot.   The indictment alleges that Crawford set the fire because of the race, color or ethnic characteristics of individuals associated with the mosque.

“Burning a house of worship because of hatred toward members of one religion is not just an attack on that religion; it is an attack on our core American values,” said Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez of the Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “The Civil Rights Division will aggressively protect the rights of all persons to worship without fear of violence or intimidation.”

“Freedom of religion is essential to who we are as Americans,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Dwight C. Holton.   “We will not tolerate attacks based on faith.”

“The ability to live, work and worship freely, without fear or intimidation, is the very foundation of our society.  We cannot allow any person to threaten the rights of those citizens we are sworn to protect,” said Greg Fowler, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon. “Today’s arrest demonstrates our continued commitment to the FBI’s core mission:  to protect our community and to protect the rights of all Americans as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.”

If convicted, Crawford faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years in prison.

This case is being investigated by the Portland Division of the FBI, the Corvallis Police Department and the Corvallis Fire Department, in conjunction with the Benton County District Attorney; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Benton County Sheriff’s Department; and the Monmouth and McMinnville Police Departments.   It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William E. (Bud) Fitzgerald for the District of Oregon and Trial Attorney Fara Gold of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Westerns, practical firearms and police cruisers

Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. Law enforcement officers Larry L. Layman, Evan Marshall and Edwin Sanow were added to the website.

Larry L. Layman is a 30 year veteran of the Peoria Police Department (Illinois). He is the author of seven westerns. According to Larry Layman, he was born a century too late and “instead of forking his blaze sorrel and heading down the trail,” he has spent three decades riding the inner city streets of Peoria. His books include: Jessie Buxton, Jose Baca, Paxton McAllister, Tyler James, Buck Moline, Tom Livengood and Lema.

According to the description of Larry Layman’s latest book, Jose Baca, “they came as a four headed demon from hell itself. All were brandishing some type of club or blade. No time did I have to take notice. My staff I ripped left to right across in front of me, the tip found the face of the closest savage. Damage was done as the man's hands went for his eyes.”

Evan Marshall is a Special Weapons and Tactics trainer for a federal agency with counterterrorist responsibilities. He retired from the Detroit Police Department after 20 years of service. His assignments included Tactical Unit, Crime Scene Investigation, Homicide and the Special Response Team. He has trained groups as diverse as the Federal Air Marshals and the U.S. Army Special Reaction Team. His articles on ammunition, ballistics and tactics have appeared in the law enforcement and firearms press over the past 25 years. Evan Marshall co-authored a series of three books with Ed Sanow: Stopping Power: A Practical Analysis of the Latest Handgun Ammunition; Handgun Stopping Power: The Definitive Study; and, Street Stoppers: The Latest Handgun Stopping Power Street Results.

According to the book description of Stopping Power: A Practical Analysis of the Latest Handgun Ammunition (third in the series, published March 2001), “Evan Marshall and Ed Sanow rocked the firearms world with the release of Handgun Stopping Power and Street Stoppers. Both books predicted the effectiveness of all types of ammunition by studying the results of real-life shootings rather than relying on laboratory tests that ignored the dynamics of an actual gunfight. This third book in the series provides the very latest street results of all the major handgun calibers, from .22 LR to .45 ACP, as well as popular rifle and shotgun loads. It also contains chapters on short-barrel ballistics, the emergence of the hot new .357 SIG caliber, the continued success of the .40 S&W, the development of the latest exotic ammo, the effectiveness of black powder firearms and a brand-new ammo test protocol based on the results of the many gunfights of U.S. Border Patrol officers.”

Corporal Edwin “Ed” Sanow is the senior reserve deputy and a 14-year veteran with the Benton County Sheriff's Department (Indiana). He is a Team Leader with the Benton County Multi-agency Response Team and the field training officer for the reserve force. Ed Sanow is the author of more than 1,000 articles on ammunition and stopping power. In October 2000, he became the editor of Law and Order magazine. He co-authored three books with Evan Marshall: Stopping Power: A Practical Analysis of the Latest Handgun Ammunition; Handgun Stopping Power: The Definitive Study; and, Street Stoppers: The Latest Handgun Stopping Power Street Results.

Edwin Sanow is the author of Encyclopedia of American Police Cars. According to the book description, “This giant, hardbound reference features the finest cars built for North American law enforcement agencies, from the 1930s to today. Arranged in chronological order, the encyclopedic collection of archival photography is complemented by a concise text revealing the evolution of the police car including standard equipment, special options, and model histories.”

He also authored Chevrolet Police Cars (April 1997) and Ford Police Cars: 1932-1997 (1997); and, co-authored Dodge, Plymouth & Chrysler Police Cars 1979-1994 (February 1996); Dodge, Plymouth & Chrysler Police Cars 1956-1978 (October 1994).

Police-Writers.com now hosts 594 police officers (representing 253 police departments) and their 1245 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.