Portland train attack suspect taken from courtroom after outburst

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A man accused of fatally stabbing two men on a Portland light-rail train in 2017 was removed from a courtroom after an outburst in which he yelled that he was the victim.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports defendant Jeremy Christian’s outburst Friday followed a comment by Demetria Hester, an African American woman who has said Christian threw a Gatorade bottle at her the day before the stabbings.

Hester urged the judge not to postpone Christian’s aggravated murder trial and described the train attack as “a senseless hate crime.”

“Manufactured!” Christian yelled.

Multnomah County Circuit Judge Cheryl Albrecht warned Christian to be quiet but he continued, saying he didn’t care, he was the victim and Hester was a liar. Deputies removed him.

Christian is accused of spewing hate speech at black teens on the train, and then stabbing three men who intervened.

He has pleaded not guilty.