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Man pleads not guilty to defacing Spokane synagogue

March 2, 2021 GMT
On a video monitor in a Spokane County Superior Court courtroom, Raymond Bryant, left, gives a not guilty plea during his arraignment to Judge Julie McKay, not pictured on lower right, on the charge of harassment stemming from racist graffiti found on Temple Beth Shalom, Tuesday, Mar. 2, 2021, in Spokane, Wash. (Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review via AP)
On a video monitor in a Spokane County Superior Court courtroom, Raymond Bryant, left, gives a not guilty plea during his arraignment to Judge Julie McKay, not pictured on lower right, on the charge of harassment stemming from racist graffiti found on Temple Beth Shalom, Tuesday, Mar. 2, 2021, in Spokane, Wash. (Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review via AP)

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A man authorities say vandalized a Spokane, Washington, synagogue last month pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday.

The Spokesman-Review reports Raymond “Ray” Bryant told police he had spray-painted swastikas on the temple and defaced the Holocaust Memorial there in an effort to recruit more white supremacists for his organization.

The 44-year-old pleaded not guilty to a single charge of malicious harassment with threats.

According to court documents, Bryant initially told police he had not been to the synagogue but, after some conversation with an officer, said he had been there and hoped to get media attention for his national Nazi organization.

Judge Julie McKay scheduled Bryant’s April 26.

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