Earlier this yr, a social media account began documenting the mysterious and alarming look of spray-painted swastikas round downtown Ventura.
However the account was not run by an excellent Samaritan making an attempt to attract consideration to a hate crime, authorities later decided. It was as an alternative the handiwork of a convicted rapist who was committing the vandalism himself, then posting pictures on-line in an effort to sow worry, in accordance with the Ventura Police Division and the county district legal professional’s workplace.
John Williams, 32, of Ventura admitted this week that he had vandalized private and non-private property with swastikas. Williams was convicted of forcible rape in 2019 and was on parole on the time of the crimes, in accordance with courtroom data.
John Williams pleaded responsible to 6 felony counts and three misdemeanors in reference to vandalism involving swastikas on private and non-private property.
(Ventura County district legal professional’s workplace)
He was arrested on March 30 and initially pleaded not responsible, however withdrew that plea Tuesday as a part of a plea cut price, prosecutors stated.
He has now pleaded responsible to a few felony counts of vandalism for harm exceeding $400, three felony hate crime counts, two misdemeanor counts of vandalism and one misdemeanor depend of possession of a stun gun by a convicted felon, prosecutors stated. He stays in custody in lieu of $250,000 bail and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 17.
“Symbols of hate just like the swastika usually are not merely relics of historical past, they continue to be harmful reminders of violence and intolerance,” Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Hayley Moyer stated in a press release. “Our group won’t tolerate acts that glorify Nazism or unfold worry, and we are going to maintain offenders accountable.”
Williams additionally admitted to particular allegations of committing the crimes whereas on parole and having a previous strike conviction, prosecutors stated. He has a historical past of parole violations and was booked into Ventura County Jail on a parole maintain 10 days earlier than his latest vandalism arrest, in accordance with the county’s inmate log.
Ventura police started investigating the hate crimes on March 30 after receiving a name from a downtown enterprise that somebody had spray-painted a swastika and “VC Delight” on a wall of its property, prosecutors stated. The identical day, police obtained 4 further experiences of swastika graffiti discovered on private and non-private properties in Ventura.
Officers rapidly recognized Williams as their suspect utilizing surveillance video at two of the vandalized places. Officers decided he had been documenting graffiti and posting pictures on social media “in an effort to offer the looks that different individuals had been committing hate crimes and spreading worry,” in accordance with the Ventura Police Division.
Antisemitic incidents have soared within the U.S. after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas battle in October 2023.
The Anti-Defamation League reported 9,354 antisemitic incidents throughout the US in 2024 — a 344% improve over the past 5 years and the very best quantity because the group began monitoring incidents in 1979.
L.A. County noticed a 91% improve in anti-Jewish hate crimes from 2022 to 2023, the most recent yr for which knowledge can be found.
