UPDATED: Once again, lamestream media ignores a domestic terrorist incident that fits a pattern
UPDATE: The terrorist – and yes, we are not backing off that description – is a known white supremacist with a long rap sheet:
The man accused of the brutal hate crime slayings of two people at the Hollywood Transit Center on Friday afternoon is a known local white supremacist. …
On April 29, Christian showed up to the right-wing “March for Free Speech” on 82nd Avenue in Montavilla with a baseball bat in an attempt to assault left-wing protesters. The bat was quickly confiscated by Portland police officers. He ranted how he was a nihilist. He’d soon yelled racial slurs (“fuck all you n*****s”) and gave the Nazi salute throughout the day. He yelled “Hail Vinland” throughout the day.
A few Portland police officers on April 29 appeared to be familiar with Christian, but not threatened by him. They claimed he had a head injury and was mentally ill. …
Christian has a criminal record that includes a host of felonies going back to 2002, when he was convicted of first-degree robbery and second-degree kidnapping. He also has a conviction for carrying/using a dangerous weapon from 2002.
The identities Christian’s victims have now been released:
Two men were stabbed and killed in Portland on Friday after they tried to intervene while a man shouted racial slurs at two women, one of whom was wearing a hijab, police said.
Police on Saturday identified the victims as 53-year-old Ricky John Best and 23-year-old Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche. Best died at the scene, and Meche died at a hospital, police said. Micah David-Cole Fletcher, 21, of Portland was also stabbed in the attack and is in serious condition at a Portland hospital, police said. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, police said.
In a press conference Saturday, Mayor Ted Wheeler said the victims were heroes, CBS affiliate KOIN reports.
Did you know that there was a terrorist incident in Portland, Oregon on Friday afternoon – that left two people dead?
Portland Police say two people are dead following a stabbing attack on a MAX train Friday afternoon.
The attack occurred at the Hollywood Transit Center. Police Sgt. Pete Simpson said a white male on the train had insulted several people. Witnesses say some of his remarks were directed two women on the train who appeared to be Muslim.
“The suspect was on the MAX train yelling various remarks that would best be characterized as hate speech toward a variety of ethnicities and religions,” Simpson wrote in a press release.
A group of people attempted to intervene, and the man began stabbing them. One person died at the scene. Police later identified that person as an adult male. A second victim died later while receiving medical care. A third person was injured in the attack but is expected to survive.
Police arrested the suspect shortly after the attack.
[More here.]
HuffPo identified the suspect as 35-year-old Jeremy Joseph Christian.
A witness told Willemette Week that the assailant slashed the throats of two passengers. Irony warning: is anyone else reminded of the conduct of ISIS?
This incident happened well before the breaking news about what looks like high treason by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, which has understandably drowned out just about everything else going into the Memorial Dat weekend.
And yes, there have been several online reports (CNN, NBC , and ABC for example).
On the other hand, there was nary a peep on US-based cable news or, to our knowledge, the broadcast networks’ early evening news shows. FOX “News” [sic] Channel would have gone full News Alert Breaking News Special Bulletin OMFG Fear Terror Check Out Our Newsmodels Oh Wait Look Terror Terror Terror if the assailant had a Middle Eastern name.
As a general rule, corporate media freaks out whenever self-radicalized thugs unleash homicidal chaos, provided there is anything that smacks of what the reactionary right calls “radical Islamic terrorism®”.
But if the person committing the terrorism is white and attacking racial or religious minorities – or is acting in defense of them – and fits an emerging pattern of violence targeting American ethnic or religious minorities?
Meh, nothing much to see here. Oh, look – a Kardashian!
The media continues to ignore a pattern of genuine terrorism at home. Shame on all of them.
