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House Minority Leader Vikki Breese-Iverson (R-Prineville) issued an apology over the weekend for a photo showing her teenage son (on the left in the photo above) making a Nazi salute while standing next to a vintage German fighter plane at the Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras.
The plane photographed is a replica of a Focke-Wulf 190 with a swastika painted on its tail. It is part of a large collection of more than 20 vintage aircraft that Jack Erickson began displaying in Madras in 1983.
The photo circulated on social media over the weekend, drawing immediate censure.
KTVZ, the television station in Bend that first reported the controversy, said the Central Oregon Diversity Project had demanded that Breese-Iverson resign over the photo.
State Rep. Emerson Levy (D-Bend), who is Jewish, commented on the photo after Breese-Iverson posted her apology. “The photo is inexcusable and offensive,” Levy wrote, adding, “I’ve had no interactions with Minority Leader Breese-Iverson that suggest she holds antisemitic beliefs. I do not believe she holds these grotesque anti-human views in her personal or professional life.”
On June 3, Breese-Iverson posted an apology on Facebook, along with a photo of a handwritten apology from her son, a high school junior.
“Out of extremely poor judgment and without considering the impact this photo would have, he posed in front of the aircraft. My husband and I have been in contact with the school administration about enforcing adequate consequences for his actions, both at school and at home,” Breese-Iverson wrote. “In no way do my husband or I condone these actions, and we apologize to anyone impacted by this image.”
Her son’s message expressed a similar sentiment. “It was a dumb mistake. I really get that now,” he wrote. “Doing something bad in the moment without thinking can cause harm. I apologize to anyone that was offended.”
House Majority Leader Julie Fahey (D-Eugene) said she hopes something good can come from an regrettable situation. “Leader Breese-Iverson’s son made a terrible mistake—one that I hope can be turned into a powerful learning opportunity for him about the horrors of the Holocaust,” Fahey said. “My thoughts are with Oregon’s Jewish community and with everyone harmed by his actions and this photo.”
The House Republican caucus issued a statement:
“The House Republican caucus is aware of a disappointing photo of the House Republican Leader’s son,” the House Republicans said. “He has issued an apology and is being held accountable by his school and his parents. The caucus does not condone this behavior and apologizes to those impacted by this image.”