36 | JULY 13 • 2023 

It took four years, but 
federal authorities finally 
charged Nathan Weeden, 
23, a Houghton man who 
allegedly painted swastikas 
and other symbols on the 
Temple Jacob Synagogue 
in 2019, with a civil rights 
crime punishable by up to 
10 years in prison, and a 
second count of damaging 
a religious property — that 
is punishable by up to one 
year in prison. Convictions 
could also lead to fines.
A grand jury issued the 
two-count indictment 
against Weeden on June 
27, according to a June 
29 announcement by U.S. 
Attorney Mark Totten’s 
office. 
In the charges, the 
U.S. Attorney’s Office for 
the Eastern District of 
Michigan, claims Weeden 
was a member of The Base, 
a national neo-Nazi group.
According to the filing, 
Weeden allegedly defaced 
the Houghton synagogue 
after encrypted chat 
communications with 
fellow members of The 
Base, including Richard 

Tobin of New Jersey 
and Yousef Barasneh of 
Wisconsin. 
Barasneh in 2020 
pleaded guilty to defacing 
a Wisconsin synagogue 
on the same day as 
the Houghton attack, 
and Tobin in 2021 was 
sentenced to one year 
in prison for helping 
coordinate the crimes in 
both states, according to 
reporting by bridgemi.com. 
It’s not immediately clear 
why it took authorities four 
years to charge Weeden. 
“The FBI will not 
tolerate crimes motivated 
by hate, which are meant 
to intimidate and isolate 
the targeted groups,” said 
James A. Tarasca, Special 
Agent in Charge of the 
FBI in Michigan. “People 
of all faiths deserve to feel 
safe in their communities 
and this office, in close 
collaboration with our law 
enforcement partners, will 
aggressively pursue these 
types of cases to ensure 
there are consequences for 
crimes like those alleged in 
this indictment.” 

Registration is now open 
for Friendship Circle’s 18th 
annual Walk4Friendship 
fundraiser that will take 
place on Sunday, Aug. 
27, at Friendship Circle’s 
Farber Center, 5586 Drake 
Road in West Bloomfield. 
Registration begins at 10:30 
a.m., and the walk starts at 
11:45 a.m.
The fundraising goal for 
this year’s walk is $750,000.
Walk4Friendship is a 
1.7-mile-long community 
walk that raises funds 
for the nonprofit’s vital 
recreational, social, 
educational and vocational 
programming. Fundraisers 
like Walk4Friendship allow 
Friendship Circle to continue 
its mission of providing 
friendship and inclusion to 
nearly 3,000 individuals with 
special needs.
“At Friendship Circle, we 
open our doors and hearts 
to anyone and everyone who 
comes here,” said Friendship 
Circle Co-Founder Bassie 
Shemtov. “Those with 
special needs, like everyone 
else, need a supportive 
community they can lean 
on without judgment and 
people who accept them 
for who they are. Thanks to 
our supportive community, 
we’ve been able to host 

the walk for 18 years, and 
with the funds raised from 
the walk, we can continue 
providing individuals with 
special needs with the best 
programs and services to 
make them feel included.”
Walk4Friendship 
participants will also enjoy 
a post-walk celebration that 
includes food, activities, 
entertainment and a new 
addition to the walk, 
the Faces of Friendship 
scavenger hunt. Participants 
can collect their scavenger 
hunt clues by picking up a 
water bottle on the day of the 
walk. Walkers will win great 
prizes while learning about 
the seven core concepts that 
make up Friendship Circle: 
heal, play, grow, learn, create, 
work and serve. 
To learn more about the 
scavenger hunt and the 
seven concepts, visit www.
walk4friendship.com/
Static/facesoffriendship. 
General donations, as well as 
donations to an individual 
walker or team of walkers, 
can be made on the www.
walk4friendship.com/
Donate. Those interested 
in walking for friendship 
can register at www.
walk4friendship.com/
Account/Register. 

Register for Friendship Circle’s 
Walk4Friendship

A previous 
Walk4Friendship

Houghton Man Indicted for 
Defacing Synagogue

Temple Jacob in 
Hancock, Mich., 
was defaced with 
swastikas.

SPOTLIGHT

