Closing arguments in the trial against Jeremy Christian will begin on Wednesday morning.
Christian is facing charges for allegedly murdering Taliesin Namkai-Meche and Ricky Best, and for the attempted murder of Micah Fletcher—three men whom Christian stabbed after they confronted him on a MAX train on May 26, 2017. Christian had been delivering a racist and anti-Muslim rant on the train that day, and also faces hate crime charges (called “intimidation crimes” in Oregon legal parlance) for directing that speech at two Black teenagers: Destinee Magnum and Walia Mohamed, who was wearing a hijab.
Christian also faces another intimidation count for the alleged assault of Demetria Hester, a Black woman who challenged Christian when he was spewing offensive speech on the MAX just one day before the stabbings.
As the Mercury reported earlier this month, the prosecution’s case against Christian included detailed witness testimony from Fletcher, Hester, Magnum, Mohamed, several witnesses who were also on the MAX that day, police officers, and other first responders. On February 7, Multnomah County District Court Cheryl Albrecht denied the defense team’s request to drop or reduce several charges against Christian.
Last week, it was the defense lawyers’ chance to present their case. Here’s a day-by-day recap of what that defense—and the prosecution's rebuttal—entailed.
Monday, February 10
Christian’s defense attorneys, Gregory Scholl and Dean Smith, began presenting their case on February 10. They opened the day by asking Albrecht to allow additional evidence, which they argued would shed light on Fletcher’s political bias as an antifascist demonstrator. Fletcher attended several antifa demonstrations in 2017, and Smith asked the judge to allow evidence from one such protest in the Montavilla neighborhood.
Albrecht said she would allow testimony from police officers who arrested Fletcher for throwing a smoke bomb at a Vancouver, Washington demonstration—but she didn’t allow for further evidence from the Montavilla demonstration.
The Vancouver arresting officers were the first witnesses for the defense. One officer said Fletcher was “very compliant” and “didn’t give us any trouble” when they arrested him, per OPB.
The defense argued that Christian was acting in self-defense when he stabbed the three men on the MAX train, and when he threw a half-full gatorade bottle at Hester the day before. During their brief questioning of Hester, defense lawyers pressed her about her own criminal record for theft and forgery convictions over 10 years ago.
Defense attorneys then questioned Stephen Yerger, a self-employed Idaho man who conducts trainings on use-of-force. Yerger said that Fletcher’s and Namkai-Meche’s behavior toward Christian—filming him, and confronting him when he didn’t stop his racist rant—were “basically pouring gasoline on the fire” and escalated the situation.
Tuesday, February 11
The trial continued on February 11, with the defense calling witnesses who testified that Christian’s cognitive functioning may have played a role in the decisions he made on the MAX in 2017.
Attorneys first questioned Glena Lynne Andrews, a clinical neuropsychologist who had examined Christian. Andrews explained to the jury that, while Christian did not appear to have the effects commonly associated with fetal alcohol syndrome or prenatal drug exposure, he did show signs of “executive functioning dysfunction,” according to KGW.
“His frontal lobes and how his brain works to make decisions to function in the world, to assess surroundings, is not where we’d expect it to be," Andrews added.
When asked by the defense team whether the 12 seconds Christian took to stab the three victims was enough time for him to process his decisions, Andrews answered, “no.” However, cross-examination revealed that Christian has an IQ score in the average range, and that he had gotten his GED and attended some community college classes.
The defense team also questioned Timothy Derning, a forensic psychologist who had also met with Christian. Derning diagnosed Christian with autism spectrum disorder, and said that Christian was a “damaged person” after being shot in the head by police in 2002 and spending seven years in prison.
During cross-examination, prosecuting attorney Don Rees read Derning’s own written report on Christian back to him.
"You write, 'autism spectrum disorder cannot fully account for or explain [Christian's] behavior on the MAX train,’” Rees quoted.
Derning agreed, and told Rees he does not believe Christian suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia.
Wednesday, February 12
Last Wednesday morning, Christian made an announcement in court: He wouldn’t be testifying in his own trial.
Christian told Albrecht he understood that testifying was his right, and that he was making the decision with a clear head. His explanation for not testifying seemed to allude to possible consequences he could face in the future.
“My biggest issue, is if I end up going to prison, I’m open to, you know, I’m in prison,” Christian said, according to the Oregonian. “It opens up a can of worms ... possibly.”
The defense’s case continued Wednesday, with psychologist Patricia Warford providing context about Christian’s frame of mind in the days leading up to the MAX stabbings. Warford said Christian’s “world began to implode” when his parents told him, two days before the incident, that they would be getting rid of the collection of comic books he kept at their home. The comics were a prized possession for Christian, and he sometimes sold them as a way to make money.
The defense also called three character witnesses who knew Christian as an adolescent and young adult. The witnesses all said Christian didn’t show signs of racism when he was growing up, and that going to prison for seven years fundamentally changed his character.
“Before he went to prison, he was just a goofy kid,” an old coworker of Christian’s said. “And when he came out, he was a little harder.”
With that, the defense rested its case.
Thursday, February 13
Thursday gave the prosecution a chance to present its rebuttal to the defense's arguments. Attorneys first questioned Portland Police Bureau Detective Michele Michaels, who had testified as a defense witness the week prior.
Michaels said that as part of her investigation into Christian, she found social media posts of his that denigrated Jewish people and idolized Timothy McVeigh, the man responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing who is considered a hero in white supremacist circles. According to OPB, Michaels also said Christian was “perfectly able” to process information visually—contrary to expert psychological testimony the defense had presented the day before.
After Michaels’ testimony, an Oregon Department of Corrections employee told prosecutors that while in prison, Christian had participated in multiple violent attacks that seemed to be racially motivated.
The next witness was Pete Simi, a Chapman University sociology professor who studies hate and extremism. Simi said many of Christians’ documented remarks and social media posts are consistent with a white supremacist belief system—including Christian’s insistence that the victims on the MAX train had been interfering with his own right to free speech.
“White supremacists for quite a while have used this free speech issue to try to appeal to a broader swatch of the population,” he said.
Friday, February 14
The prosecution’s rebuttal wrapped up on Friday, with psychiatrist Alan Newman providing testimony that contrasted with defense testimony from earlier in the week. Newman said he would diagnose Christian with alcohol use disorder and antisocial personality disorder—but he does not believe Christian is on the autism spectrum.
According to the Oregonian, Newman said Christian’s fixation on comic books “wasn’t any different than people I would meet at a comic book convention,” and did not suggest to him that Christian has autism spectrum disorder, as the defense has argued.
Newman also disagreed with previous defense testimony that alleged Christian didn’t have the time or mental capacity to think about his actions as he was stabbing his victims.
Happening This Week
The case’s closing arguments will begin Wednesday. After those arguments have been completed, it will be up to a jury of twelve Multnomah County residents to decide whether Christian is guilty of the 12 charges against him.
