According to the Roseburg News-Review, “Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin got caught with his pants down.”
A photo that appears to be revenge porn has been circulating in Roseburg showing Hanlin, an elected official, pants-less in only a T-shirt with the words “Lit Saturday” over his genitals. Another photo shows the sheriff giving the middle finger.
The paper reports that Hanlin said “the photo was taken in private at his own residence” and “the photo was published on a website that mimicked his own personal Facebook page and was likely posted by an ex-girlfriend.”
Hanlin made national headlines in 2015 after the Umpqua Community College shooting that killed 10 people, including the shooter, when he refused to say the shooter’s name and encouraged the media and community not to use it as well.
The recent Facebook photo is not the first time Hanlin has been involved in a social media controversy. In 2013, after the Sandy Hook shooting that killed 20 children and six adults, Hanlin posted a conspiracy video to Facebook that “suggested the Newtown, Connecticut, tragedy might have been staged by the federal government to provide a pretext for ‘disarming the public’ and that grieving parents were actually ‘crisis actors.'” That stance that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax was thrust into the limelight after Umpqua.
Hanlin gave a full statement to the News-Review, which can be seen here. In the statement he says that an ex-girlfriend posted the photo on a Facebook site intended to appear as if the Facebook site was his, and he “did not authorize the photo.”
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
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None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519