Man arrested in swastika posting on official’s door

A 32-year-old man was arrested Friday in connection with the pasting of swastikas on the district office door of Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss, according to a spokesperson for the LAPD.

Adonis A. Irwin was arrested about 8:30 a.m. after fleeing his home on Natick Avenue in Sherman Oaks, police said. He was taken into custody without incident on suspicion of felony vandalism and jailed in lieu of $40,000 bail.

A lone man was seen early Thursday gluing sheets of paper on the front door of Weiss’ office in Sherman Oaks, police said. Three pieces displayed the Nazi flag. Two others contained printed messages, one of which stated: “Our policy: we have no time to listen to Jewish American children!!! If you don’t believe us, just try talking to us.... Hail Weiss!”

A man identifying himself as Don Irwin twice visited Weiss’ Sherman Oaks office in the last week -- on Monday and again Wednesday, according to two constituent complaint forms that he filled out. The forms were obtained by The Times through a public records request.

On both forms he listed a Natick Avenue address and said he was affiliated with the “Child Abuse Prevention Coallition.” Weiss spokeswoman Lisa Hansen said Irwin did not have a specific city-related complaint, but she declined to elaborate because police were investigating.

The forms contain only a few words; the first is difficult to decipher but the second reads “NoOne listening” and lists a website for Project Hope International, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that works to prevent human trafficking in Southeast Asia.

The LAPD said Irwin had been questioned by patrol officers Wednesday for creating a disturbance at Weiss’ office. A witness’ description of the vandal Thursday resembled Irwin, and police subsequently searched his home and said they found evidence linking him to the crime.

Weiss also confirmed that the suspect had provided another website address to one of the district office employees. When the name “Don Irwin” is typed in that site’s search field, two results lead to a user profile that contains photos of a man posing with guns and knives.

“The image of the swastikas is bad enough; those additional images only make it worse,” Weiss said. “I think that it sends a very good message to the community that the LAPD prioritizes and solves these types of cases so quickly because the essence of a hate crime is to spread the impact throughout the community.”

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steve.hymon@latimes.com