Reed College has announced the termination of its long-serving director of community safety, Gary Granger, following his disclosure of information regarding alumnus Robert Jacob Hoopes to the FBI without a subpoena or warrant.
This decision was communicated via an email from President Audrey Bilger and Vice President for Student Life, Karnell McConnell-Black, who stated that this “change in leadership” was the result of a thorough review process.
The college leadership emphasized that their investigation was guided by the institution’s core values, particularly concerning the privacy and trust of its community members.
Granger, who had served in his role for over 15 years, defended his actions and was critical of his termination.
He alleged that his firing was influenced by external “political” pressure from wealthy alumni donors.
Granger received a separation notice detailing his termination effective October 1, stating that he had not violated college policy, but contravened a recent college directive that warned staff against disclosing information to law enforcement agencies, including ICE officers, without proper legal documentation.
He explained that the information he provided to the FBI agent consisted solely of the alumnus’s local address and phone number, both of which were available in the college’s public alumni directory.
The FBI had already been aware of Hoopes’ name and photo prior to Granger’s disclosure.
In a report by The Oregonian/OregonLive, it was revealed that the FBI had utilized facial recognition software to identify a suspect linked to an incident where a rock was allegedly thrown at a federal officer outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in South Portland on June 14.
The affidavit indicated that Granger had shared the suspect’s full name, address, and phone number with the FBI, which subsequently led to Hoopes’ arrest.
Following this incident, college President Bilger announced the initiation of an independent investigation and placed Granger on administrative leave.
Currently, two assistant directors of community safety are temporarily filling the role of the acting director as Reed College seeks a new permanent leader.
In their message to the community, Bilger and McConnell-Black acknowledged the challenges posed by this situation and expressed gratitude for the understanding and confidence of the Reed community during this difficult time.
They reiterated their commitment to upholding the college’s shared values of accountability, privacy, and respect.
Details from the affidavit elaborated that the FBI had spotted a distinctive tattoo on the suspect’s arm in surveillance footage, which led them to use the college’s image alongside other commercial facial recognition software to find potential matches of the individual’s identity.
This software generated a list of 30 possible comparisons sourced from various public databases.
Among these was an image from a Reed College photo-sharing event, taken in April 2023, which showcased the suspect with an identical tattoo.
An Instagram profile also surfaced, providing the name
image source from：oregonlive
