Andrew Joseph Oswalt, OSU Student, Charged With Hate Crime For Bumper Stickers

Andrew Joseph Oswalt, 27, a student at the Oregon State University, was charged Tuesday with hate crimes for allegedly sticking racist bumper stickers on cars last June.

Oswalt, a representative in the Associated Students of Oregon State University (ASOSU), was charged in Benton County with four criminal counts including two counts of criminal mischief and two counts of intimidation which equates to hate crime in Oregon, Oregon Live reported.

The chemistry doctoral student had worked as a teaching assistant for upper division chemistry courses over the past four years in the university. According to court documents, Oswalt was arrested Tuesday and jailed in lieu of bail of $157,000, which was reduced to $25,000 Wednesday.

Oswalt received tremendous backlash on campus for harboring nationalist views which was outlined in a student newspaper report on Jan.22. His inflammatory thoughts on women and minorities alarmed the faculty and students.

In the report in the student newspaper Daily Barometer, Oswalt said he believed the core philosophy of liberals stems from their hatred for white people. Oswalt then stated that African Americans were inferior to whites and they will be well served to adopt the ideals of western civilization which was originally spurred by white thinkers.

Referring to the incident where he was called a racist for arguing that white individuals possess greater intelligence than other races, he said, “I mainly just own it. I stand by my statements and they can throw as many -ists and -isms at me as they like, but those words have become functionally meaningless in today’s society.”

“I am not a Hollywood Nazi. I am not interested in killing anyone. I am not interested in harming anyone. All I want is a frank discussion,” he added.

ASOSU president Simon Brundage said he vehemently disagrees with Oswalt's perception on racial matters. He said he didn’t believe it was his role to monitor the membership of the legislative branch and Oswalt was elected to represent the student body in the house.

“Obviously, I do not believe these white supremacist views represent the student body,” Brundage told the college newspaper.

“I think it is important that folks like him have those beliefs clearly articulated so students can make an informed decision. If voters knew about the beliefs espoused by this individual, I do not believe he would have been voted in in the first place,” he added.

Oswalt remains in custody of the police. If he posts bail, he will be barred from entering the OSU campus.

"This is a hate crime inspired by ignorance, fuelled by racism and aimed at people of color," Ryan Joslin, a deputy district attorney for Benton County, told the Oregonian/OregonLive. "It was his intent to terrorize both individuals and a group of people."