Tenn. GDL-affiliated man arrested after trying to access Nashville JCC disguised as Orthodox rabbi

An east Tennessee man affiliated with the neo-Nazi Goyim Defense League was arrested after trying to gain entry to the Gordon Jewish Community Center in Nashville while wearing a disguise intended to make him look like an Orthodox Jew.

Travis Keith Garland, 31, was arrested in Maryville on Jan. 15, two days after he appeared at the JCC, on a criminal trespassing warrant and an assault warrant for “putting a Jewish Community Center security guard in fear,” according to a statement by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.

Garland is from Maryville, just south of Knoxville and three hours east of Nashville.

Travis Keith Garland

Garland was booked into the Downtown Detention Center in Nashville the evening of Jan. 16. NewsChannel5 (WTVF) in Nashville reported that the District Attorney General went to night court to ensure a high bond, fearing Garland would try to flee. Bond was set at $250,000, and he remains jailed. His next court appearance is Jan. 23.

The station also reported Garland’s affiliation with GDL, which did a couple of highly-visible marches in Nashville last year, including a demonstration outside West End Synagogue. He is the third GDL member to face charges in Nashville in the last six months.

Around 7:45 p.m. on Jan. 13, Garland entered the JCC lobby wearing a black hat and coat, fake beard and sidelocks, and a white silk scarf. He was carrying a cell phone, to make it seem like he was either recording or livestreaming.

When a front desk staffer stopped him, Garland asked to speak to a rabbi. When he was told there was not one at the JCC, he started toward an inner door, where two members were exiting. They blocked him from getting any further, at which point a security guard arrived and told him to leave.

Garland continued to insist on speaking with a rabbi, and the guard reported that Garland kept eyeing his pistol, “putting him in fear that he might try to take it.” Garland eventually left the building, and the guard escorted him to the front gate, rather than allowing Garland to return to his car, in case there was anything dangerous in the vehicle.

A police officer then arrived, and Garland told him that he was taking part in an internet prank. Since he was unarmed, he was warned, and told to leave the area.

The police department statement noted that after further investigation by Security Threat detectives, in consultation with staff of the Community Center and the District Attorney’s Office, it was determined that Garland should be charged.

When he was arrested, Garland was wearing an Alex Jones T-shirt.

Phil Williams of NewsChannel5 reported that a Telegram handle linked to Garland, “kitchenwaffen,” had a post stating “I wore the rabbi costume and went into their jew building harassing them … and the dude freaked out.”

Another post referred to the guard with an Asian slur, stating “I stormed their temple and [he] almost shot me.” In the livestream back to the group, Garland said to the guard “why would you shoot me?”

His online bio describes himself as “cooking jews and feeding them to n****rs.”

Earlier this month, he posted a video of himself in the same costume at the Nashville Holocaust Memorial, where he mocked Holocaust victims “if they’re even real,” while affecting an exaggerated New York accent. He mentioned that he would “pull a pretty funny stunt” in the coming days,” apparently referring to his attempt to enter the JCC.

The Nashville Holocaust Memorial is a large outdoor sculpture on the JCC grounds, in a wooded area across the parking lot from the building.

In 2015, Garland was charged in Alcoa in a hit-and-run crash where a 71-year-old man in a wheelchair who was crossing the street was killed. He was charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident, and evidence tampering for removing his license plate afterward. He was sentenced to a year in jail.

Garland was on probation at the time of the crash, from a 2012 aggravated assault conviction.

He also reportedly had DUI charges last July and in February 2018.

The JCC issued a statement by President Jeremy Brook and Executive Director Jesse Feld, saying “our front desk staff and security team demonstrated the highest level of professionalism and adherence to our security protocols during this entire episode, as they do every single day.”

They have been “in constant communication with law enforcement,” and “while such events can be unnerving, we are pleased with the work of our Gordon JCC Security unit in ensuring the optimal outcome.”