Over 30 community members attend routine hearing

Andrew Oswalt, a former Associated Students of Oregon State University graduate representative and member of the “alt-right,” appeared in court Monday morning for a status check. Over 30 community members attended the routine hearing on Feb. 26, some wearing stickers supporting the Black Lives Matter movement or denouncing neo-Nazi rhetoric.

Oswalt’s lawyer Nicolas Ortiz requested four weeks to continue to review the case with his client. The attorney cited family matters recently keeping him away from work. Lawyers representing the state of Oregon agreed with this timeline, noting that additional search warrants have been executed at the defendant’s residence in The Pillar, a co-op on Monroe Avenue across the street from the Lonnie B. Harris Black Cultural Center. Oswalt continues to reside there, controversially displaying a Confederate flag in a window visible from the cultural center.

Oswalt has been charged with two counts of intimidation in the first degree—a felony hate crime—for allegedly placing racially charged bumper stickers on cars last year. The defendant has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Oswalt’s next status check is scheduled for April 2 at 8:30 a.m.

While choosing not to comment on the ongoing legal process, Oswalt said he has received around 50 emails from members of the OSU community wanting to talk with him.

“(The positive responses) have been split evenly between ‘I don’t agree with everything you say but you have a right to say it’ and ‘thank you for voicing this,’” Oswalt said.

Other responses have been far less supportive, including death threats against his friends and family members but not the white nationalist himself, Oswalt said.