Cave Junction, Ore. — A weekend of fun in Cave Junction turned into a nightmare for one man who believes he was brutally attacked because of his race.
Lance Johnson was camping with family in Cave Junction at Seats Dam, and a local party was going on nearby. He said party goers were rapping about “white power” and Johnson asked one of the them if they were a Nazi. He said that’s when the group started shouting racial slurs at him, and soon began attacking him.
“I’m just so against hate, and to be a victim of it just made me feel so worthless at the time,” Johnson said.
Johnson recounted the frightening moments from Sunday night, when he was attacked.
“They were just jumping me. and I went into fetal position to protect my head,” he said.
The 30-year-old said one attacker picked up a cooler and slammed it on top of him. That was before a nearby camper heard what was happening and fired a gun in the air twice.
He said that was enough to scare off the group.
Johnson luckily walked away with just abrasions and scrapes on his arms and face.
But Johnson said he’s not letting this incident affect him as an openly gay, white male.
“I’m not afraid to be who I am and I’m still not. I’m not going to live my life in fear,” Johnson said.
He filed a report at the hospital, but has yet to hear from police.
He said he’s disappointed by the way law enforcement has been treating the situation and says any contact has been brief.
“It’s like I was making a doctor’s appointment – in and out,” he said.
NBC5 made multiple attempts to contact the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday for more information on the report, but our calls have not been returned.
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