Oregon lawyer broke no rules by recruiting other attorneys for his neo-Nazi think tank: state bar

The Oregon State Bar found an attorney had done nothing wrong by pestering other lawyers with emails inviting them to check out his ideas for "the preservation of the white race."

Tadas Arlauskas, who now practices law in Las Vegas but previously practiced in Portland, sent emails to other Oregon attorneys asking them to join a think tank to advance "white civil rights," reported Willamette Week.

The emails included a link to the neo-Nazi National Vanguard website.

Two of the recipients, attorneys David Coats and Jesse Calm, filed complaints against Arlaukas with the state bar association.

The attorneys believed Arlaukas had violated the rules of professional conduct against "openly advocating for discrimination (or worse) against minority races" by promoting the work of the National Socialist Movement.

But the bar disagreed, saying Arlaukas had not broken any rules by promoting neo-Nazi ideas and organizations.

"While we do not endorse or condone Mr. Arlauskas' interests or viewpoint, he is within his rights to advocate for that viewpoint without implicating our rules of professional conduct," wrote Daniel Atkinson, the bar's assistant general counsel. "Irrespective of Mr. Arlauskas' viewpoint, there is no evidence presented that he has knowingly intimidated or harassed any individual on any basis in the course of representing a client."

Arlaukas has not commented about the bar's finding.