Former alt-weekly reporter in Portland guilty of arson, hate crime spree

A jury determined that during a four-day hate crime spree two years ago, Mike Bivins attempted to set fire to a Muslim community center and damaged two synagogues and a Black-owned business.

The Multnomah County jury found Bivins guilty on all ten counts, including first-degree arson, criminal mischief, and second-degree bias offense, which is the legal name for a hate crime, after deliberating for almost four hours on Thursday.

Bivins, now 37, was a freelance journalist and independent filmmaker for Willamette Week in the mid-2010s, frequently providing critical coverage of far-right demonstrations.

However, Bivins started engaging in racial and religious hate trafficking after quitting the field in 2019. Prosecutors used the racist pamphlets discovered during a search of Bivin’s apartment in the Sellwood neighborhood and his unfiltered remarks on social media as evidence in court.

During closing arguments on Wednesday, prosecutor Quinn Zemel stated that the state has no interest in monitoring Bivin’s personal beliefs or ideas.

However, he clarified that the motivation behind our actions is important and that they have many outcomes. The goal of these prejudice crimes is to terrify an entire community, not just the building owner, as is the case when you spray paint “Die Juden” on a synagogue.

Bivin’s spree started on April 30, 2022, when he broke a window at Everybody Eats PDX, a Black-owned restaurant in the Pearl, then smashed a window at Congregation Shir Tikvah, a synagogue in east Portland.

According to surveillance film, he then damaged Congregation Beth Israel in Northwest Portland and, on May 3, set fire to the rear of the Muslim Community Center in North Portland using an accelerant.

The building’s fire-resistant siding caused the flames to extinguish naturally, and worshippers inside were not aware of the attack until the next day, when the scorch marks were accidentally found.

Disappointed that the majority of his damage was going unreported, Bivins went undercover to KPTV’s Beaverton headquarters, where he told reporter Chandler Watkins about the offenses and said he would be back in two days after she checked with the police.

Watkins said on Wednesday that she and her bosses promptly made the decision to notify the police after he threatened to repeat the act unless he was apprehended.

When Bivins got off a bus in Beaverton close to the TV station at the appointed hour, officers apprehended him.

In her closing statement, defense lawyer Alicia Hercher contended that the state had failed to meet the burden of proof, pointing out that detectives had also been looking into another suspect who had texted the imam at the Muslim Community Center with threatening messages.

She claimed that there was no clear video, no DNA, and no fingerprints that would have identified the individual. When attempting to convict someone of a crime, these factors are crucial because details count.

But the jury decided in favor of the state.

During the three-day trial, Bivins had no sympathizers. He still faces unresolved federal charges, and his mother passed away while he was in detention.

When he tried to address the press gallery during breaks during the trial, deputies reprimanded him multiple times, once saying that his own experience was the most important story.

Judge Eric Dahlin cautioned him against purposefully causing a mistrial after he considered taking the stand but declined to respond to the prosecutors’ queries. Dahlin said he would let the jury draw conclusions about the veracity of each unresolved question.

In the end, Bivins chose not to testify and seemed unconcerned when the conviction was announced.

However, as he was being led away in handcuffs, he did mutter a few words: You haven’t heard the last of me.

The date of sentencing is September 19.

For The Oregonian/OregonLive, Zane Sparling reports on court proceedings and breaking news. You may contact him at zsparling@oregonian.com, 503-319-7083, or pdxzane.

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