Oregon State student convicted of hate crime

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) – An Oregon State University student with ties to white nationalists in the Pacific Northwest has been convicted on charges related to putting offensive stickers on the cars of members of a racial justice group.

News outlets report Benton County Circuit Court Judge David Connell found Andrew Oswalt guilty Thursday of all five criminal counts stemming from the incident that came to light while Oswalt served as a student government representative.

Prosecutors had charged the Ph.D. candidate in chemistry with three counts of intimidation, a felony hate crime under Oregon statute. He was also charged with two counts of criminal mischief, a misdemeanor.

Corvallis police say Oswalt and an accomplice placed bumper stickers with a racist slur about African Americans on cars at a food co-op in June 2017.

He will be sentenced Dec. 12.