A so called “journalist” has been arrested and is being charged for allegedly setting two Synagogues and a Mosque on fire.
34-year-old Michael Bevins was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on Saturday after a tip from a news station alerted the authorities.
Bivins who has been identified as a onetime freelance journalist who covered political extremism in Portland until 2019, walked into the station and confessed.
According to KTPV:
“Our arson investigator got involved in the case and since then she has been chasing this suspect and connecting him to other incidents,” said Kevin Allen of PPB. “So we know the incidents go back to April 30th at this point and she is still working to see if there are any other cases that might be related.”
On Wednesday, Bivins came by the Fox 12 station asking to speak to a reporter. He said he was the one vandalizing places of worship, gave names and locations of places he had been to and vandalized, and said he would not stop committing these crimes before stating he would come back to the station Friday afternoon.
After he left the station, Fox 12 contacted authorities, sharing the information he had provided. Meanwhile, police say he went back to Beth Israel and threw a large rock through a library window.
“We were notified by Beaverton Police that they had been contacted by KPTV about this guy showing up and claiming that he was involved and apparently wanted to talk to a reporter on that topic,” said Allen. “The Beaverton Police detective recognized that this might be a pretty important clue. They contacted our detective and developed a plan to get him into custody.”
On Friday, Bivins was arrested as he was making his way back to the Fox 12 station.
The News Release From Portland Police listed the following charges:
Criminal Mischief in the First Degree
Criminal Mischief in the Third Degree
Arson in the First Degree (Measure 11)
Criminal Mischief in the First Degree
The investigation is ongoing.
