22 | NOVEMBER 5 • 2020 

O

n Oct. 29, state and 
federal authorities 
arrested the leader 
and an “associate” 
of a Michigan-based 
neo-Nazi group 
responsible for tar-
geting an Upper 
Peninsula synagogue 
with antisemitic graffiti.
A team of FBI agents arrested 
Justen Watkins, 25, of Bad Axe, 
self-proclaimed leader of The 

Base, and Alfred Gorman, 35, of 
Taylor, during a pair of raids.
The Base says it seeks to 
impose a white 
ethno-state on the 
country. The group 
has a presence in the 
U.P
., where a mem-
ber spray-painted 
hateful messages on Temple 
Jacob, a congregation in 
Hancock, in September 2019.
“The initial reaction is one 

of thanks for the federal agents 
and the continued work of the 
FBI in monitoring these hate 
groups and keeping us safe,
” 
said David Holden, president of 
Temple Jacob. “The vandalism 
that happened at our synagogue 
was quite shocking. I’
m glad to 
see the FBI is continuing their 
efforts to monitor these groups.
”
The Base is believed to have 
emerged in mid-2018, with 
member footprints in Maryland, 
Delaware and Georgia. 
“Using tactics of intimida-
tion to incite fear and violence 
constitutes criminal behavior,
” 
said Michigan Attorney General 
Dana Nessel in a press release. 
“We cannot allow dangerous 
activities to reach their goal of 
inflicting violence and harm on 
the public.
”
Nessel’
s office charged the 
men with felonies including 
gang membership and using a 
computer to commit a crime.

Richard Tobin, 18, of New 
Jersey, was arrested for the 
Temple Jacob vandalism in 
November 2019 and for alleged-
ly ordering the vandalism of 
two synagogues in other states. 
At the time, Tobin allegedly 
said he planned the attacks 
as part of a nationwide cam-
paign he called “Operation 
Kristallnacht,
” a reference to the 
1938 pogrom.
The Base also terrorized a 
Dexter family at their home in 
December 2019, after wrongly 
believing the family was associ-
ated with an Antifa member. 
Watkins reportedly ran a 
“hate camp” for the other mem-
bers of the group, where he led 
“tactical and firearms training 
for participants with the goal of 
being prepared for the violent 
overthrow of the government.
”
The arrests are unrelated to a 
foiled kidnapping plot against 
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. 

W

e Need to Talk, 
a youth mental 
health initiative of 
Federation in partnership with 
community agencies, launched 
a community mental health 
survey to better understand 
how the Detroit Jewish commu-
nity can be supportive. 
 The survey, for youth and 
those who work with youth, is 
available via the We Need To 
Talk website (www.wn2t.org) 
and can be completed in 10 
minutes or less. The survey is 
open through November and 
responses are completely anon-
ymous. Five participants will be 
randonly selected to receive a 

$50 Amazon gift card.
 “In particular, we want to 
help the youth in our commu-
nity who are really struggling 
with their mental wellness 
during this extremely chal-
lenging time,
” JFMD Senior 
Planning Director Todd Krieger 
told the JN. 
 According to experts, the 
COVID-19 pandemic is respon-
sible for a significant increase in 
mental illness. 
 The CDC published a study 
in August showing that 25% 
of young American adults (18-
25) who were surveyed in June 
indicated that they had contem-
plated suicide as a result of the 

pandemic. 
 Ashley Schnaar, Youth 
Mental Health Coordinator for 
JFMD, said the survey’
s goal is 
“understanding what we can 
be doing to support youth and 
their parents and the profes-
sionals they’
re working with 
right now, knowing that there’
s 
increased isolation, people are 
out of their normal routines, 
and that it’
ll exacerbate people’
s 
mental health.
”
 The initiative began after 
results of the Federation’
s 2016 
Jewish Community Needs 
Assessment showed that youth 
were struggling with anxiety, 
low self-esteem and sadness. 
 Federation took action and 
formed a workgroup with 

representation from agencies 
throughout the community 
to help improve youth mental 
health. 
 “We want to really provide 
that education in the com-
munity that people need, and 
decrease the stigma associated 
with mental illness,
” Krieger 
said.
 According to Krieger, the 
survey will be used as a baseline 
to understand where they are in 
meeting objectives. 
 If you or someone you 
know is considering suicide, 
please contact the National 
Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 
1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text 
“STRENGTH” to the Crisis 
Text Line at 741-741. 

 JFMD

IN 
THED
JEWS

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

Feds Arrest
Neo-Nazi Linked
to Michigan 
Synagogue Graffiti

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID HOLDEN

A swastika painted

on the outside of 

Temple Jacob in 

Hancock, Mich.,

in 2019.

AntiSemitism

the

Project

Federation’s Youth 
Mental Health Initiative 
Launches Survey

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER