Police admit suspect in Portland double murder could be ‘domestic terrorist’
Portland police have said the man accused of stabbing three men while they were trying to protect Muslim women from his racist slurs on a train could be a “domestic terrorist”. Jeremy Christian, 35, will appear in court this week for slitting the throats of two men and stabbing a third after he verbally attacked two women, one of whom was wearing a hijab. Two of the men subsequently died.
“It’s too early to say whether last night’s [Friday’s] violence was an act of domestic terrorism or a federal
hate crime,” Renn Cannon, the special agent in charge of the FBI office in Portland, said. The stabbings came just hours before the beginning of the Muslim celebration of Ramadan, a month of prayer, reflection and fasting.
Christian was charged with two counts of aggravated murder and one count of attempted murder, as well as two counts of second-degree intimidation and being a felon in possession of a restricted weapon, relating to his previous felony convictions of robbery and kidnapping in 2002. Federal prosecutors are still deciding whether to add federal hate crime or civil rights charges to the counts.
Ricky John Best, a 53-year-old army veteran and father of four, died, along with Taliesin Myrddin NamkaiMeche, a 23-year-old economics graduate. The third victim, Micah David-Cole Fletcher, 21, remains in hospital with serious injuries. After the murders, Christian fled the station on foot and was filmed taunting police before he was apprehended.
Police are now investigating Christian’s potentially extremist ideologies. The suspect appeared at a free speech rally in Portland in April, making racist remarks and the Nazi salute, as reported by The Portland Mercury. He came to the rally with a baseball bat, which he handed over to the police, and was wearing a baseball cap and a Revolutionary War-era flag. Police had to separate Christian from others as he shouted and swore at them declaring he was a “nihilist” and the rally was “my safe place”. On his Facebook page, Christian reportedly posted anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi material, and memes attacking anti-fascist activists. He declared that if President Donald Trump was “the next Hitler”, he would “join the SS”.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler rushed back from London on Saturday to hold a news conference with police, during which he condemned the current political climate and the “spewing” of bigotry. “They [the victims] were all attacked because they did the right things. Their acts showed selflessness and should serve as an inspiration to us all,” Mr Wheeler said. “The killer will face justice.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on local Muslim communities to step up security measures during the month of Ramadan. The advocacy group also urged Mr Trump to denounce bigotry and condemn the attacks. “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,” said CAIR national executive director Nihad Awad. “Only a strong statement from the nation’s leader will send a message to bigots that such acts of violence targeting racial, ethnic or religious minorities are unacceptable.”
More than 2,000 people attended a candlelit vigil on Saturday evening for the victims and their relatives in Portland. Several fundraising pages had also gathered more than $250,000 (£195,000) in less than 24 hours. Local Muslim leaders have also raised more than $50,000 for the victims. Carlos Espinoza, a friend of Mr Fletcher, wrote on a GoFundMe page: “He bravely did what anyone should do when confronted with terrorism and stepped in to stop the harassment of Muslim women by a known white supremacist.”
Police said they located the women on the train targeted by Christian – they were reported as teenagers by Oregon Live – but did not say whether they had been interviewed. Authorities are still looking for more witnesses for what would have been a busy time of day.