Letter encourages Oregon community to ‘track and report’ people of color, cops say

A “racist” letter is circulating around coastal Oregon, telling leaders to “round up” “brown people,” officials told local news outlets.

The letter circulated around Lincoln County and “encourages community members to track and report information regarding people of color, specifically community members that are believed to be undocumented,” the sheriff’s office said in a Dec. 19 Facebook post.

“If you see a bunch of brown folks getting in a car, write down the plate number,” part of the letter, called “The Brown Round Up, Part One,” said according to KGW8. “Starting the last part of January 2025, this nation will commence the largest roundup of brown illegals in our history.”

Lincoln County Sheriff Curtis Landers received the letter in his personal mailbox, along with Lincoln City Mayor Susan Wahlke, according to KATU.

“It’s just causing a lot of harm in the community, concerns, we don’t want people looking over their shoulder, is someone writing down their license plate for whatever reason,” Landers told KPTV.

Deputies said “Oregon law generally prohibits the inquiry or collection of an individual’s immigration or citizenship status, or country of birth, with few specific exceptions,” according to the Facebook post.

“I heard about the letter from the mayor of Toledo, and he and his city councilors had received it over the weekend. I went to my post office mailbox on Wednesday and found the same letter,” Wahlke told KATU.

Landers told KPTV that the sheriff’s office notified the FBI and learned the letter is isolated to Lincoln County, the outlet reported.

Lincoln County is about a 130-mile drive southwest of Portland.