2017 Portland train attack

At about 4:30 p.m. PDT on May 26, 2017, Jeremy Joseph Christian fatally stabbed two people and injured a third on a MAX Light Rail train after he was confronted for directing what the Portland Police Bureau's report later said "would best be characterized as hate speech toward a variety of ethnicities and religions" at two girls. A witness reported that Christian used anti-Muslim slurs and "was screaming that he was a taxpayer, that colored people were ruining the city, and he had First Amendment rights". The man told the girls to "go back to Saudi Arabia", to get out of "his country", and "said they were nothing and they should kill themselves". The stabbings happened within less than 12 seconds. At the Hollywood/Northeast 42nd Avenue Transit Center, passengers fled the car, Three other men gave first aid to Best until EMS personnel arrived. police were able to locate Christian. A group of at least eight officers arrested him "on the north side of Providence Portland Medical Center on an access road running along Interstate 84, just east of 47th Avenue, at 4:48 p.m.". The police affidavit also states that patrol car video footage shows Christian saying after his arrest, "I just stabbed a bunch of motherfuckers in the neck ... I can die in prison a happy man", and about one of the men on the train who had confronted him, he said, "That's what liberalism gets you." ==Investigation==

Christian was booked into the Multnomah County jail. The FBI assisted Portland police in the investigation. Renn Cannon, of the Portland FBI field office, said at the time, "It's too early to say whether last night's violence was an act of domestic terrorism or a federal hate crime." ==Theft from a victim==

In the early morning of June 2, 2017, police arrested 51-year-old George Elwood Tschaggeny, who lived in a small homeless camp near the platform where the train stopped after the attack. According to police and prosecutors, Tschaggeny removed the wedding band from Best's finger and stole Best's backpack and wallet. He was arrested after police viewed surveillance video showing the theft and obtained a community tip on the thief's identity. According to police, he was wearing Best's ring when he was arrested and had the backpack and contents of Best's wallet. Tschaggeny was a heroin addict. He was arraigned on charges of identity theft, second-degree abuse of a corpse, first-degree theft and tampering with physical evidence. After a guilty plea on November 14, 2017, he was sentenced to 13 months in jail followed by five years of probation and court-supervised drug treatment. ==Prosecution of Jeremy Joseph Christian==

Indictment and pretrial proceedings Christian was charged with two counts of aggravated murder and one count of attempted murder, as well as three misdemeanors: two counts of second-degree intimidation and one count of being a felon possessing a restricted weapon. He also yelled: "Leave this country if you hate our freedom—death to antifa!" Christian shouted that he was not guilty and that he acted in self-defense against the "violent aggression by Micah Fletcher". Christian pleaded not guilty to all charges. A Portland television station sought the release of warrants and affidavits related to the investigation; in October 2017, a federal judge denied the motion due to concerns that the release could prejudice potential jurors. In November 2017, a bail hearing was held; Christian was denied bail. On November 1, 2019, pursuant to a new state law, Christian's aggravated murder charges were downgraded to first-degree murder, eliminating the possibility of the death penalty. Trial, conviction, sentencing, and appeal The trial was initially scheduled to begin in June 2019 but was delayed for an additional six months to allow time for further pretrial proceedings. Opening arguments for Christian's trial began January 28, 2020. In February 2019, Christian's attorneys filed a notice indicating that, at trial, the defense planned to raise mental health defenses. The defense team indicated that it might argue three such defenses: a "guilty except for insanity" defense, including Micah Fletcher, who was wounded in the stabbing. Extensive video and audiorecordings of Christian's post-arrest rantings were also played to the jury. The attorneys made their closing arguments on February 19; after 11 hours of deliberation over two days, on February 21 the jury announced they unanimously found Christian guilty on all counts. During the sentencing hearing, Christian was removed from the courtroom after a furious outburst directed at one of his surviving victims. Christian appealed his convictions, citing numerous alleged trial court errors. On June 17, 2024, the Oregon Court of Appeals rejected his arguments and affirmed Christian's convictions in full. ==Perpetrator's prior history==

Jeremy Joseph Christian had been convicted previously of kidnapping and the robbery of a convenience store in May 2002, and he was sentenced to 90 months in prison for that offense. Christian was also arrested in 2010 on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and theft, but those charges were later dropped. He held extremist views, posting neo-Nazi, antisemitic, and far-right material on social media, as well as material indicating an affinity for political violence. Despite this, a psychiatric report noted that many of his views diverged from what would be expected from a white supremacist and that he even expressed a desire to live amongst Brazil's Indigenous peoples. The Oregonian noted that Christian made many contradictory Facebook posts, but that such contradictions are typical of extremists. It said his posts "reveal a comic book collector with nebulous political affiliations who above all else seemed to hate circumcision and Hillary Clinton". At times he expressed support for Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, although he wrote that he did not vote. According to friends and acquaintances, Christian's actions were becoming increasingly unstable, and he was in need of mental help, but he had not been given a formal diagnosis. In April 2017, Christian wrote, "I just Challenged Ben Ferencz (Last Living Nuremberg ) to a Debate in the Hague with Putin as our judge. I will defend the Nazis and he will defend the AshkeNAZIs [a reference to European Jews]." He praised Timothy McVeigh in an online posting on April 19, the anniversary of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. He also "posted conspiracy theory memes from the right-wing Alex Jones Channel". He wore a Revolutionary War-era flag of the United States and carried a baseball bat, which police confiscated. He gave Nazi salutes and used a racial slur at least once. At the event, Christian was videotaped shouting "Die, Muslims!" Christian told police that he had dropped out of high school but later earned his high school equivalency and took classes at Portland Community College for a year. He identified himself to police as a transient who did "not know the last time he had a permanent address" and lived with friends and family. ==Victims==

Ricky John Best, 53, of Happy Valley, died at the scene. He was a technician for the City of Portland's Bureau of Development Services, a U.S. Army veteran, and a father of four children. In 2012, he retired from the Army after more than twenty years of service. Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche, 23, of Ashland, died at a hospital shortly after the attack. He had recently graduated from Reed College with a degree in economics and worked for the Cadmus Group consulting firm. A passenger who helped him reported his last words: "Tell everyone on this train I love them." The attacker was millimeters away from hitting Micah's left jugular vein, Fletcher, a student at Portland State University, won a poetry contest in 2013 while he was a junior in high school with a poem about Islamophobia in the United States. Christian and Fletcher had both attended a "free speech" rally in Montavilla about a month prior to the attack. Christian was with a right-wing group, while Fletcher was a counter-protester. Destinee Mangum, one of the two girls harassed by the assailant, expressed her gratitude to the three men who stepped in to help her. ==Reactions==

Community Hundreds of people gathered near the Hollywood Transit Center on the evening of May 27 for a candlelight vigil to honor the victims. Three crowdfunding campaigns set up to help the victims' families raised $1 million by May 29. Muslims in Portland said they were thankful for the support of the community after the attack. Wadji Said of the Interfaith Council of Portland compared the attack to the 1988 murder of Mulugeta Seraw, an Ethiopian immigrant who was slain by a group of racist skinheads in Portland. He also called for withholding a permit for an ACT! for America rally at the same location. ACT! for America subsequently cancelled its planned anti-Muslim march in Portland, moving it to Seattle. Former candidate for the 2016 presidential election Hillary Clinton called the incident "heartbreaking" and said that "No one should have to endure this racist abuse. No one should have to give their life to stop it." Oregon's U.S. Senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, expressed their grief and condolences for the victims. Merkley urged President Trump to "speak out personally against the rising tide of Islamophobia and other forms of bigotry and racism in our nation that he has provoked through his numerous statements, policies and appointments". The Portland police contacted the Muslim community to discuss increased patrolling during Ramadan. The bureau's spokesperson said, "Our thoughts are with the Muslim community. As something like this happens, this only instills fear in that community." The Council on American–Islamic Relations asked President Trump to denounce "rising bigotry" and violence against Muslims. The organization's executive director said, "President Trump must speak out personally against the rising tide of Islamophobia and other forms of bigotry and racism in our nation that he has provoked through his numerous statements, policies and appointments that have negatively impacted minority communities." Khan also praised the two men who were slain, saying they "really sacrificed everything. They really stood up for the values of the Constitution." Harris Zafar with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Portland said the actions of the men who stepped in to defend the Muslim women inspired him. The Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon expressed grief for the tragedy and hoped it would "draw Muslim communities together". ==See also==