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0000017b-98c7-d6d2-a7fb-9eefdbf90000KLCC News is covering many aspects of the 2016 General Election. View KLCC's election related stories below.

Election 2016 Continues To Inspire Harassment, Vandalism And Spite

Brian Bull

The Southern Poverty Law Center says nearly 900 hate incidents -- including those its researchers have tracked against Trump supporters -- have been reported since the election, with 33 in Oregon.  As KLCC’s Brian Bull reports, it’s a high rate given the state population.  

The SPLC ranks Oregon 10th nationally for reported hate incidents, but with just four million residents, that’s significant.  Acts against immigrants and minorities have been most prevalent, with several reported in Eugene, Salem, and Bend as well as Portland.

While some say Donald Trump’s election has inspired these actions, the President-elect’s supporters say they too have experienced harassment and vandalism. 

Wayne Lemler is Chair of the Lane County GOP.

“We have had campaign signs stolen, ripped down, and thrown into the street,"  says Wayne Lemler, Chair of the Lane County GOP.  

"We have had people’s houses who’ve had signs…had their houses egged.  We’ve had people yelled at and almost assaulted while they were putting up signs, and the infamous middle finger from many people.” 

More recently, swastikas were spray-painted on some Trump campaign signs overlooking I-5. 

Lemler calls the vandalism “pathetic” and “uninformed”.

A spokeswoman for Lane County says the property owner was alerted to the vandalism, and will be taking the signs down.  

The SPLC is continuing to track incidents of harassment and vandalism following the election, and notes that many cases -- including those who support the President-elect -- may go unreported.  

Brian Bull is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and remains a contributor to the KLCC news department. He began working with KLCC in June 2016.   In his 27+ years as a public media journalist, he's worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.
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