PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The man accused of killing two men and wounding a third who tried to stop his anti-Muslim tirade against two teenagers on a Portland, Oregon, light-rail train shouted he was “not guilty” Wednesday during a courtroom outburst directed at one of the victims.
Jeremy Christian, 35, didn’t enter a plea during his brief court appearance but said he was “not guilty of anything but defending myself against the violent aggression by Micah Fletcher!”
Fletcher was in the courtroom but said nothing to reporters and displayed no reaction as he left with his father. The 21-year-old was stabbed in the neck during the May 26 attack that killed Ricky Best and Taliesin Namkai-Meche.
The stabbings shocked the liberal city and deepened worries about a series of apparent hate crimes in the region and contentious public rallies that have drawn national attention.
Prosecutors who have reviewed videos and interviews with witnesses say in court papers that Christian yelled hateful comments at two black girls, one of whom was wearing an Islamic head covering called a hijab.