Two people were killed and a third was injured after defending two Muslim women being harassed in Portland, OR, on Friday. One of the Portland victims' mothers wrote a letter to President Trump on Memorial Day and posted it to Facebook on Tuesday, asking the commander-in-chief to take action.
Asha Deliverance's 23-year-old son, Taliesin Namkai-Meche, was fatally stabbed on a Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) train after standing up to someone yelling what the police described as hate speech at two women, one of whom was wearing a hijab. Namkai-Meche and 53-year-old Army veteran Rick Best died after the attack, and 21-year-old Micah David-Cole Fletcher was released from the hospital on Tuesday after being treated for wounds on his neck and chest.
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The Portland suspect, 35-year-old Jeremy Joseph Christian, has been charged with aggravated murder and was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. Authorities told USA Today Christian is a self-proclaimed white supremacist.
In her letter, Deliverance told the president that her son died a hero, "like many other Americans who have died defending freedom." She wrote, "Our family grieves, but we are proud that through his selfless action he, along with the other two men, has changed the world, when in the face of hate he did not hesitate to act with love."
President Trump was criticized for not immediately denouncing the anti-Muslim violence that took place in Oregon, and eventually tweeted from the official POTUS account (run by the White House, unlike his personal account) that the attack was unacceptable. The president had a similarly delayed response after an attack on two Indian immigrants in Kansas that resulted in one death in February.
The violent attacks in Portland on Friday are unacceptable. The victims were standing up to hate and intolerance. Our prayers are w/ them.
— President Trump (@POTUS) May 29, 2017
Deliverance's letter asked Trump to do more.
"You have said that you will be President for all Americans," she wrote. "So, I ask you Mr. President to take action at this time. Your words and actions are meaningful, here in America and throughout the world."
She also asked him to encourage Americans to protect and watch out for one another, writing, "Please condemn any acts of violence, which result directly from hate speech & hate groups. I am praying you will use your leadership to do so. "