As the Mercury reported last week, the long-awaited trial against Jeremy Christian began on Tuesday, January 28.

Christian has been accused of fatally stabbing Ricky Best and Taliesin Namkai-Meche and wounding Micah Fletcher—three men who confronted Christian when he broke into an anti-Muslim rant on the MAX on May 26, 2017. He's also been charged with intimidation crimes (Oregon's language for a hate crime) for directing his rant at Walia Mohamed and Destinee Magnum, two Black teenagers who were also riding the MAX that day. Mohamed was wearing a hijab, a headscarf signifying her Muslim faith, at the time. Christian is also facing another intimidation count for allegedly assaulting Demetria Hester, an African American woman who confronted Christian on the MAX the day prior while he was spouting another racist diatribe.

The first seven days of trial have centered on opening statements and the testimony of witnesses called by Multnomah County prosecutors. The prosecution rested its case on Wednesday—allowing jurors a two-day reprieve before Christian's defense team begins calling their witnesses to the stand. It's also an opportunity to get caught up on what's taken place over the past week:

Tuesday, January 28

On the first day of trial, lawyers laid out their arguments to the jury in graphic, dramatic opening statements. Christian's defense attorney Dean Smith argued that his client was mentally ill and his rants—about Christians and Muslims killing each other—were not directed at anyone in particular. Smith did not deny that Christian killed Best and Namkai-Meche, but explained that when cornered by three men trying to stifle his constitutional right to free speech, Christian had acted impulsively in self-defense. Prosecutor Don Rees, however, pointed to multiple pieces of evidence (including when Christian directly told police that he had committed a "hate crime") that seemed to prove Christian "fully intended to hurt and kill his victims."

After opening statements, prosecutors began calling witnesses into the courtroom. Both Mohamed and Magnum recalled the traumatic day through tears, each recounting how terrified they were of Christian—and how they believed he was going to kill them.

Wednesday, January 29

The second day of trial saw eight witnesses—all of them people who had been on the MAX train with Christian, or who were on the scene shortly after Christian stabbed Best, Namkai-Meche, and Fletcher. The witnesses’ varying accounts of that afternoon offered insight into how people’s reaction to violent rhetoric is informed by their own identities and life experiences.

Shawn Forde, a Black man who Christian allegedly threatened with his knife, explained why he didn't immediately join the three white men in intervening in Christian's rants.

“I’m in the whitest city in the whitest state, so I’m aware of people saying things to me,” Forde said. “Life experience has told me engagements like this can end badly." Instead, Forde pushed the emergency call button to alert the MAX operator a dozen times.

Jurors also heard from army veteran Marcus Knipe, who was on the Hollywood MAX platform when Micah Fletcher stumbled out of the eastbound train with a deep wound in his neck. Knipe used his army medical training to help Fletcher until first responders arrived.

Thursday, January 30

On Thursday, MAX operator Jeffrey Quintana testified. According to OPB's reporting, Quintana was operating the MAX when the stabbings occurred, but said he did not hear or see any alerts that passengers were hitting the call button from inside the train car. He did hear that there was an argument occurring in the car, and made an announcement over the train car intercom to "settle down." Jurors also heard from Charles Button, a man who tried to administer medical aid to Best.

"I was covered in blood from my toes to my knees and my hands. I was very sad and trying to figure out what to do next after this,” Button explained. “I just felt like I’d let the man down on the train.”

That afternoon, jurors left the courthouse to tour a MAX train car identical to the car where the stabbings took place.

Friday, January 31

Demetria Hester, the woman who Christian allegedly assaulted on a MAX train on May 26, the day before the fatal stabbings, testified on Friday.

Hester walked jurors through the late-night encounter, which began when Christian boarded her MAX car and yelled “that he was a Nazi, that he hated all Muslims, blacks, Jews," according to Hester's testimony. She told Christian to "shut up." He didn't. When the MAX reached Hester's stop at the Rose Quarter, Christian allegedly told Hester she was "going to get it," and followed her off the MAX. That's when Hester says she sprayed Christian with mace that she kept in her bag. In response, Christian chucked a half-full Gatorade bottle at her face, hitting her square in the eye. The jury saw photos of Hester's puffy, swollen eye.

Hester's testimony was followed by statements by two TriMet supervisors who were at the Rose Quarter that evening. One supervisor, Andrew Garcia, said he heard Christian saying racist things and saw Christian throw a bottle at Hester. The other supervisor, Bradley Hanson, explained that when he tried to stop Christian, Christian told him: "Get away or I’ll stab you." When Portland Officer Neal Glaske arrived at the scene, Garcia said he identified Christian as the suspect. But Glaske didn't arrest him.

According to Glaske, who testified next, he didn't feel comfortable arresting Christian—a suspect in an assault—without officer backup. Glaske did drive past Christian and asked him if he was involved in the assault, to which Christian answered: "No."

The Oregonian noted that lawyers representing TriMet and the City of Portland attended the trial Friday. Both agencies are being sued by the families of Best and Namkai-Meche. The families have accused TriMet for failing to carry out adequate safety measures and accused Portland Police Bureau (PPB) for not arresting Christian after Hester's assault.

Later Friday, jurors heard from a trauma surgeon who inspected both Namkai-Meche and Fletcher when they arrived at Legacy Emanuel hospital and from two MAX passengers who had attempted to follow Christian after he fled the scene.

Monday, February 3

The fifth day of trial began with the testimony of Garrett Chase Robinson, another MAX passenger who chased after Christian after he ran from the MAX stop. Robinson, along with other concerned witnesses, followed Christian accross I-84, down a trail paralleling the highway, and eventually into the parking lot of Providence Medical Center, where police cruisers were waiting.

Two of the officers who stopped Christian—Edward Johnson and Brad Kula—testified next. Johnson, a Black man, approached Christian armed with a taser.

“He kept asking if I was going to ‘Tase’ him,” Johnson said, according to OPB's reporting. “‘You going to Tase me, n——-? I see you holding your Taser,’” Johnson said Christian yelled at him.

Kula said he had pointed his rifle at Christian and told Christian to drop his knife and get on the ground. According to Kula, Christian told Kula he "better shoot him" because he wasn't going to follow his instructions. Kula testified that he would have shot Christian if Christian had moved towards the officers.

Prosecutors then played a 37-minute long video of Christian ranting while in custody during a medical check and his police car ride to the Multnomah County Detention Center. Here's how Oregonian reporter Aimee Green described the video:

During his harangue, Christian complained that he would get gangrene because his handcuffs were too tight, talked about an episode of “Star Trek" and the Klingons’ space ship, shared his plan for world peace, repeatedly used a racial slur to refer to African Americans and talked about Muslims and Christians killing each other. Christian also repeatedly admitted he stabbed the men and talked about how he planned to bring his case to trial, the jails and prisons where he’ll be locked up and that he’ll die in prison “a happy man.”

Tuesday, February 4

Only only one witness took the stand Tuesday: Micah Fletcher. Fletcher, whose neck still bears the scar of his near-fatal cut, patiently explained the actions he took to confront Christian after hearing Christian's xenophobic rant. He told the jury how he saw Namkai-Meche engage with Christian, and thought the sound of Christian knocking a cell phone out of Namkai-Meche's hand (Namkai-Meche had told Christian he was going film his rant) was Christian punching Namkai-Meche.

“I immediately rush toward the two of them and try to get in between them before the situation can escalate,” Fletcher explained to prosecutor Howes Tuesday.

Fletcher said Christian shoved Namkai-Meche, prompting Fletcher to grab Christian by the shirt and push him away from Namkai-Meche. Fletcher said he had wanted to turn Christian's attention on himself, since Fletcher had a history of being bullied and knew how to defend himself in fights.

Howes asked Fletcher what happened next.

“He died and I got hurt. I was wrong. I didn’t save him,” Fletcher said. “I really wanted to and I couldn’t. I just wasn’t strong enough.”

Christian's attorney Smith asked Fletcher if he thought he'd taken the right steps to deescalate the situation. Fletcher said, that looking back now, he's not sure, "because it was loud and that’s not very deescalative... it’s not necessarily escalative either.”

Smith also pressed Fletcher to explain why, after Christian shoved Namkai-Meche, Fletcher told Christian to get off the MAX. Here's how OPB explained Fletcher's response:

“Yes, for one, but … I wasn’t planning on physically dragging him off the train,” Fletcher said. He said he was instead trying to encourage Christian to consider his options and realize that leaving the train would be the best decision.

Smith asked about Fletcher's past involvement in left-wing protests, hinting that Fletcher had a history of trying to "interfere" with free speech. But Fletcher said he wasn't affiliated with any left-wing groups, and hasn't tried to stifle anyone's right to protest.

Wednesday, February 5

The seventh day of trial began with testimony from Michele Michaels, a PPB detective who interviewed Christian days after the MAX stabbing. She also reviewed surveillance video footage from the TriMet car, and pointed out that Christian had made a "slicing motion" across his throat, before the altercation started between Christian, Fletcher, and Namkai-Meche.

According to KGW, Christian began shaking his head during Michaels' testimony. When asked why, Christian told Judge Cheryl Albrecht, "We just watched the video and she's lying! It's clear that's what she did!" Albrecht then warned Christian not to speak out in court again.

Several other witnesses took the stand Wednesday afternoon, including Best's son and Namkai-Meche's sister. A Multnomah County District Attorney's office investigator, Steven Ober, also testified.

Per OPB, Ober recounted a phone call that took place between Christian and an unidentified woman in January 2018, when Christian was detained. On the call, Christian described Fletcher's actions as "bullying" and “an autistic tantrum thrown by another wannabe social justice warrior.”

The jury wasn't present on Thursday, February 6, but lawyers met to hash out scheduling, and argue over the wording of the charges against Christian. Court wasn't in session on Friday.

Next Week

Now that the prosecution's initial testimony is complete, the defense will have a chance to call its own witnesses, some of whom are flying into Portland from out of town. Defense witness testimony will begin on Monday. The trial will likely last the rest of the month.