PORTLAND, Ore. — A white supremacist living in the Eugene area was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison and three years supervised release after he sent letters containing death threats and racist and homophobic messages to a former teacher, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon reported Monday.
On May 20, 2021, a federal grand jury charged Gary Franklin, 58, with three counts of stalking and mailing threatening communications. On Jan. 4, 2022, Franklin pleaded guilty to two counts of mailing threatening communications. He was sentenced Monday.
During a five-month period from December 2020 to May 2021, Franklin sent two threatening letters to a former community college professor, according to court documents.
The first letter contained a printout of a dead, mutilated woman with handwritten messages above and below the image that included racist and homophobic slurs and the message, "What I'd like to do to you." The second letter contained a photograph of a dead, decapitated woman in a black trunk and handwritten messages saying Franklin wanted to do what was depicted in the photo to the victim.
"There is no way to undo the damage Gary Franklin did to the victim and her family with his hateful, repulsive, and threatening behavior," said Kieran L. Ramsey, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon. "The FBI hopes today’s prison sentence can provide them some sense of comfort. No one should ever be targeted or threatened because of who they are. This kind of cruel and hate-filled terror has no place in our community and it won’t be tolerated."
Franklin's fingerprints were found on the first letter and during an execution of a search warrant at Franklin's home in Eugene, agents found and seized multiple items, including body armor, a boot spike, knives, collapsible batons, a monkey's fist, brass knuckles, a 12-gauge shotgun shell, metal chain mail and a black trunk similar to the one shown in the photo that was sent with the second letter.
Inside Franklin's home, agents also found literature and handbooks about death, dismemberment, murder, torture and sexually motivated killings. Investigators also found evidence that Franklin is a white supremacist and that he's motivated by white supremacist and neo-Nazi ideologies. Franklin was the administrator of a white supremacist membership website and operated a social media account for the website, investigators said. Agents also found multiple photos inside Franklin's home that showed him with items and wearing clothing with Nazi and white supremacist symbols.
"Mr. Franklin’s harassment of the victim in this case was hateful and downright disturbing," said Scott Erik Asphaug, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. "Further, the bigoted and racist ideology he espoused and lauded have no place in our community. Nobody should have to live in fear of depraved individuals like Mr. Franklin. Mailing threatening communications is a serious federal crime and will continue to be a top priority for our office."
Anyone who has information of real or perceived threats of violence should call the FBI at 503-224-4181 or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. For immediate threats to life and safety, call 911.
