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A Multnomah County jury on Thursday found former Portland journalist Mike Bivins guilty on all 11 charges in his bias crime trial, including charges for felony crimes of arson and criminal mischief.
The jury found that Bivins committed a string of bias crimes in May 2022. He was accused of breaking windows and spray-painting a Nazi-referencing death threat at Congregation Beth Israel in Northwest Portland; attempting to set fire to the Muslim Community Center in North Portland while people were inside the building; and breaking windows at another synagogue and a Black-owned restaurant.
The jury found him guilty of all those attacks, and determined Bivins was motivated to commit these crimes at least in part because of his victims’ races and religious beliefs.
In the courthouse, the 12-person jury—composed of five men and seven women—took about four hours to reach their verdict. Bivins was tense as the verdict was read, but he remained quiet as he was convicted on each count.
“What we know is that he didn’t target these institutions for no reason,” says prosecutor Quinn Zemel. “He targeted them because of who they were.”
Bivins, who worked as a freelance journalist for outlets, including WW, turned from a reporter with a sharp eye for right-wing extremism into an extremist himself, shocking many of those who knew him. Now 37, Bivins penned his last WW story in 2019. Sources close to him have told WW his mental state deteriorated in 2021.
“I hope this verdict signals the message that people in our community won’t stand for this kind of hate, and that people should feel secure in the places they worship and businesses they own, and that Portland is open to all people,” says prosecutor Charlie Weiss.
Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 19, and prosecutors declined to comment on the prison time they’ll ask for, though they indicated a number of parties have also submitted requests for restitution. Bivins also faces federal charges.
