By JESSICA ANDERSON
In my Sept. 11, 2024 column, I shared an update on Michael Bivins, a local man charged with crimes associated with vandalism and arson at two synagogues, a mosque, and a Black-owned restaurant. At the time, we were expecting a plea deal to be scheduled in March 2025 and were seeking community interest in signing a Community Impact Statement describing the effects of hate on vulnerable communities. 
Unfortunately, we were recently notified that the case is being pushed to July 2025 and will be going to trial. Community members who previously expressed interest in receiving updates will be notified, but this is also an opportunity to raise community awareness of the case and offer another chance to (anonymously) sign the letter and note the new trial date in your calendar. 
Bivins trial is scheduled for the week of July 7. It would potentially be impactful if community members attended some of the trial and the day of sentencing, if Bivins is convicted. If that happens, a judge will determine his sentence, which will provide an opportunity for community members to support each other and be part of an effort to speak out about bias crimes. Our country’s legal process allows victims and those affected by these crimes to voice how the events affected them, influence the sentence, and help shape the Judge’s understanding of the effect of the person’s actions. 
As members of the Portland Jewish community, you can take part in this phase of the judicial process if Bivins is convicted. Several community members have worked diligently over the past two years to follow the case and prepare a Community Impact Statement for the court. In this case, the goal of the statement is to show that bias crimes impact an entire community, strengthen the legal response to these crimes, and help prevent them in the future. You can read the community statement at https://docs.google.com/document/d/17oq4Onaw1nqnQCjza1BMeAwe4T4hnbJxtPAT8ypz57Q/edit?usp=sharing.
The hope is that community members will attend the trial and support the community statement in the sentencing phase if Bivins is convicted. No individual names will be submitted to the court - only the names of directly affected institutions and the total number of signatories from the community at large. As your community security director, I will temporarily retain the list of names and e-mails, and the information will not be further shared. 
Within the form, you have two options – you can anonymously sign the Community Impact Statement, you can opt to be notified of the trial date, or both! The court’s victim advocate group says that it’s very helpful if many members of a community show up to a trial and subsequent sentencing hearing - they help demonstrate to the court the impact and importance of the proceeding. 
To sign up as a supporter of the Community Impact Statement, please fill out the Google form here https://forms.gle/skC7hK9tFPmKwV356
Feel free to share the links with others whom you know care about bias crimes being committed against any group in Oregon and who seek to stand and be counted.
Reporting remains critical in stopping bias crimes, and we know incidents are underreported. Please report and encourage others to do so as well. Incidents can be reported on the JFGP Security page at https://www.jewishportland.org/security.
You may also contact the Oregon Department of Justice’s Non-Emergency Bias Response Hotline at 1-844-924-2427 or report online at https://justice.oregon.gov/CrimeReporting/BiasCrime.