Neo-Nazi arrested after trying to enter Nashville JCC disguised as a rabbi

Police in Nashville, Tennessee, have arrested a man affiliated with a neo-Nazi organization after he attempted to enter a Jewish Community Center disguised as an Orthodox rabbi.

Last week, Travis Keith Garland entered the Gordon JCC wearing a poorly designed disguise with a mock beard, fake peyot, or sidelocks, and a black coat. He held a cellphone in his hand to make it appear that he was recording or streaming, and asked to speak with a rabbi. When told there was no rabbi on the premises, he attempted to continue past a secured door before a security guard intervened and escorted him off the premises.

Since he was unarmed, Garland was allowed to leave the area after being warned. However, police later determined that he should be charged, and he was arrested after being located in Maryville, Tennessee. He told an officer that he was taking part in an internet prank.

Garland was later found to be a member of the Goyim Defense League, a neo-Nazi hate group that held antisemitic demonstrations in Nashville last summer. He was charged with criminal trespassing and assault, and the court set his bail at $250,000.