Richard B. Mayers of Berwyn was arrested and charged with one count of criminal damage to property for damaging videotapes related to the Holocaust at the Riverside Public Library.
The five videotapes were discovered by library staff on July 5, each with their film ripped and pulled out of its plastic casing. The videos included Anne Frank Remembered, Memories of Kristallnacht, and all three segments of the Holocaust TV series.
Mayers, 33, is a known white supremacist, and library staff said he had been in the library in the past attempting to donate
anti-Semitic material to their collection. Staff members also picked him out of a photo lineup provided by Riverside police as a man they had seen in the library around the time the videos were
damaged.
Riverside police attempted to question Mayers about the incident at his home in Berwyn, but they were not able to contact him. They asked Berwyn police to assist in their search and apprehend him if possible. On July 12, Riverside police were alerted that Mayers had been apprehended in Berwyn.
Mayers was then brought to the Riverside Police Station, where he soon signed a written statement implicating himself in the crime. According to Riverside Assistant Police Chief Thomas Weitzel, Mayers said he destroyed the tapes because he believed they weren’t truthful about the history of WWII.
Police contacted the State Attorney’s Office seeking a felony charge for a hate crime, but this was denied because Mayers had not directly threatened violence against a person.
Mayers posted bond on July 12, and his court date is scheduled for August 19.
