A private Portland, Oregon, college told a senior security official that he harmed its “reputation” with donors and the public by helping the FBI catch a leftist riot suspect, according to a document explaining his firing.
Reed College is terminating Director of Community Safety Gary Granger after suffering backlash from the arrest of an alumnus on charges stemming from a June 14 riot outside a Portland immigration facility, the school said in a Friday separation letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Granger’s assistance to the FBI angered “the public and members of the broader Reed community, many of whom the College relies upon for funding,” the letter reads.
The college announced an investigation into Granger in July for giving the FBI the address, phone number and full name of Robert Hoopes, a 2023 graduate accused in court documents of scarring an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer’s face with a rock and “using an upended stop sign as a makeshift battering ram” to try to break into the Portland ICE building.
Granger, who has held his role for 15 years, maintains that his actions were “consistent with the College’s policy, long-standing practices, and to protect the safety of both the campus and wider community,” he told the DCNF.
“To be clear, the President of one of the most prestigious colleges in the country refused to condemn — or even mention — the arrest of a Reed College graduate for the act of hurling a rock into the face of another human, effectively condoning the violence through her silence,” Granger said.
An immigration officer’s face injury is seen in an affidavit accusing a man of throwing a rock at him on June 14, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. (Image courtesy of the FBI)
“While we cannot comment on personnel matters in detail, we want to affirm that this process has been informed by our values, including the privacy and trust of our community members,” Reed College said in a public statement Friday about Granger’s firing, The Post Millennial reported. “We recognize that this has been a difficult and concerning time for many, and we are grateful for the engagement, patience, and trust of the Reed community.”
Reed College’s media team did not respond to multiple inquiries from the DCNF.
The college also did not mention the assault on an ICE officer in its Friday statement, nor in its July statement announcing that it was investigating Granger.
The Friday letter to Granger notes that alumni information can be released under campus policies, but argues that Granger’s actions did not align with the school’s “practice” of requiring a warrant, subpoena or court order beforehand.
The federally-funded college also complained that Granger did not inform higher-ups about “what [Granger] described as a ‘credible threat’ to the campus community” and only told his supervisor about speaking to the FBI after the fact.
“This incident reflects past performance issues with communication and collaboration that appear to affect your ability to lead effectively,” the school told Granger without elaborating on such issues.
“The harm to community trust and the College’s reputation is substantial,” the letter says. “Senior leaders — including the President, Vice Presidents/Deans, Information Technology, Public Affairs, and the Advancement teams — have borne the weight of numerous expressions of anger and disappointment from the public and members of the broader Reed community, many of whom the College relies upon for funding to sustain its academic programs and student support services.”
Reed College’s data privacy policy says the school may disclose personal data to some parties to investigate “illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to safety, or violations of our terms of use,” Granger noted in comments to the DCNF. The privacy policy remained unchanged after Granger’s team discussed with the school how staff should respond if law enforcement showed up to campus, he said.
Hoopes pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault on a federal officer and damaging a federal building, and an Obama-appointed judge gave him pretrial release on July 28. The Department of Homeland Security and an attorney for Hoopes did not respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.
“During my fifteen years at the college I created harm reduction programs, supported restorative justice for low-level misconduct, and — when necessary — collaborated with all levels of law enforcement,” Granger said. “With the knowledge of my current and past supervisors I partnered with all levels of law enforcement in conducting threat assessments, investigating hate crimes, and in response to violent crimes including sexual assault.”
“As an ‘at-will’ employee I may be fired for pretty much any reason, apparently including ‘disappointment’ by people who give the college money … when the President of Reed College — or any institution of higher education — believes that withholding information to appease donors is more important than the most effective possible investigation of a violent crime, we should all be concerned,” Granger told the DCNF.
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