Former Reporter Arrested After Attacks On 3 Houses Of Worship: Police

PORTLAND, OR — A former reporter who has covered Portland for the better part of the past decade and wrote nearly two dozen stories for Willamette Week, is under arrest, charged in connection with four attacks on three local houses of worship.

Portland police announced Saturday that Michael Bivins, 34, a Portland resident, was arrested around 2:30 p.m. Friday after he visited KPTV and demanded to speak with a reporter. He was arrested by Portland police with an assist from Beaverton police.

He was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center early Saturday morning, on three felony charges and one misdemeanor charge in connection with the attacks on the Muslim Community Center and two synagogues, according to court records.

Police said that as of Saturday evening, Bivins was in jail and awaiting arraignment as of Saturday.

According to police and court records, Bivins is charged with:

• First degree criminal mischief in connection with the April 30 attack in which a window was broken at Congregation Shir Tikvah at 2420 N.E. Sandy Blvd.
• Criminal mischief in the third degree related to graffiti on an outside wall of Congregation Beth Israel at 1972 N.W. Flanders St. on May 2.
• Arson in the first degree related to a fire that was set while people were inside the Muslim Community Center at 5325 N. Vancouver Ave. on May 3.
• Criminal mischief in the first degree related to a second at Congregation Beth Israel, one in which a rock was thrown through a window in the building's library on May 4.

Bivins, who had his name on about 20 Willamette Week stories from 2019 back ro 2016, developed a reputation for covering protests throughout Portland, often recording video and sharing it with local news outlets.

In recent months, his Twitter feed, has taken an angry turn with many Tweets referring to "the Biden Crime Family," as well as personal attacks on people such as Vice President Kamala Harris and Chelsea Clinton. He also tweeted that "Portland is turning into Mexico."

On April 15, he tweeted that Oregon should repeal bias or hate crime laws.

Two days later, he tweeted that Twitter had temporarily locked his account for violating their terms of service with a tweet about a death row inmate.