Accused Oregon Train Stabber Says He Was ‘Defending’ Himself
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Sam Kestenbaum June 15, 2017
Jeremy Joseph Christian, who was arrested in the killing of two men and wounding of another aboard an Oregon train last month, claimed in a court appearance on June 7 that he was “defending himself.”
“Not guilty of anything but defending myself against violent aggression by Micah Fletcher,” Christian said, according to the Oregonian, calling out the surviving victim of the stabbing, who was also in the courtroom.
Christian is an ideologically complex man whose extremist views do not fit neatly into one box. In public Facebook posts, he called himself a Viking who worshipped Odin. He supported Bernie Sanders before rallying around President Trump and vowed to kill supporters of Hillary Clinton. He hated religions and wanted to see Jews go to “the ovens” — and send Christians and Muslims along, too.
Christian is accused of pulling a knife and stabbing the men on a train on May 26. Christian reportedly began harassing two young women — one African American, one wearing a hijab — when he boarded the train, before fatally stabbing Ricky Best, 53, and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche, 23, who were intervening between Christian and the two young women.
Email Sam Kestenbaum at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum
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