Portland Train Attack: Man Arrested For Stealing Hero's Ring Was Wearing It When Arrested

See the man in the picture? Portland Police say he stole a backpack and wedding ring belonging to Rick John Best, one of the TriMet heroes from Friday. When two young women were the targets of a hate-filled attack, Best was one of three men who stepped up to defend women he didn't know.

Best was one of two who paid with their lives.

Police arrested 51-year-old George Tschaggeny in the area of Northeast Halsey under the Cesar Chavez overpass near I-84.

He was wearing Best's wedding ring at the time.

Investigators believe that he stole the ring off Best's finger while he helped him.

He is charged with theft in the second degree, tampering with physical evidence, and abuse of a corpse in the second degree. He will be arraigned on Monday in Multnomah County Court.

Police says that while they recovered Best's ring and backpack some items were missing, including a wallet with phone numbers of some of Best's long-time friends. The wallet is described as a military-style camouflage colored wallet.

Portland Police said that he had been seen on surveillance video leaving the MAX train carrying Best's black backpack in his right hand.

He was seen carrying another backpack in his left hand. Police said it's unknown if it was his.

Police received several tips on where to find Tschaggeny.

FAMILY OF SUSPECT EXPRESSES SYMPATHY

The family of Jeremy Christian, the man accused of stabbing three and killing two, made on Thursday their first statement since the attack.

"We offer our deepest sympathies to the families of the deceased; to the young women harassed; and to everyone who tried to protect these young women," they said in a statement provided to media outlets.

"We cannot begin to understand this senseless act. We abhor violence, racism, and bigotry. We are praying for healing for everyone affected by the horrible actions of our son."

IMAGES OF HOPE AS TARGET OF HATE MEETS HERO

Destinee Magnum, a 16-year-old student at David Douglas High School, got on the MAX with her friend last Friday afternoon to head to Clackamas Town Center. Soon after, they were joined on the train by Jeremy Christian, a 35-year-old who the night before had told people on a different train that he wanted to decapitate people.

On this afternoon, Christian saw Magnum and a friend. The friend, who is Muslim, was wearing a hijab — a traditional headdress.

Christian started verbally abusing them in a hate-filled rant that inspired three men to stand up for Magnum and her friend.

Two of those men would die.

On Wednesday, Magnum got to meet the one who survived — 21-year-old Micah Fletcher, a student at Portland State University.

"Finally got a chance to meet one of the angels that saved my daughter'ss life," Magnum's mother, Dyjuana Hudson, posted on Facebook. "Micah is one of the best genuine hearted people you will ever meet.

"Micah is one of a kind and a very strong young man that comes from two beautiful parents that we also had the pleasure of meeting today."

VICTIM'S MESSAGE: REMEMBER THE GIRLS

Earlier in the day, Fletcher had posted a message to Facebook, downplaying what he had done and urging people to focus on Magnum and her friend.

"Imagine that for a second, being the little girl on the MAX. This man is screaming at you, his face is a pile of knives, his body is a gun. Everything about him is cocked, loaded and ready to kill you.

"There’s a history here with this, you can feel this has happened before, the only thing that was different was the names and faces. And then stranger, two strangers, three strangers, come to your aid, they try to help you and that pile of knives just throws itself at them, kills them."

Fletcher, who while in high school won the annual Verselandia poetry contest for a poem about discrimination against Muslims, maintains he is not a hero. The important thing, he said, are the two girls.

"Yes, two men died," he said on Facebook. "Yes, I was injured. But what we need to remember is that this is about those little girls. We need to remember that this is about them.

"This is about those little girls."

WATCH FLETCHER'S VIDEO

THERE WILL BE PROTESTS

Portland's resolve will be tested this weekend as there will be protests by groups on both sides of the political spectrum.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said the federal government rejected his request to withdraw the permit that had been given to an alt-right group to have a demonstration on Sunday.

The demonstration, organized by Patriot Prayer, is a "free speech rally meant to bring back strength and courage to those who believe in freedom," according to organizers.

"There will be protests and counter-protests this weekend in Portland," Wheeler said Wednesday. "We have reached out to the organizers to call upon them to exercise common sense and to help us keep the peace.

"There will be local and federal law enforcement on the ground to ensure everyone has the right to express their beliefs and to protect everyone's safety," he continued. "I urge everyone participating to reject violence. Our city has seen enough."

The General Services Administration, which controls the land of Terry Schrunk Plaza, says that organizers had done everything they were supposed to in applying for the permit and there was no basis to revoke it.

With the protest going ahead, counter-protesters are expected to be across the street in Chapman Square, setting up a potential showdown.

More than 1,000 people have indicated on Facebook that they will attend a demonstration organized by an umbrella group, Portland Stands United Against Hate.

Other groups have said that they plan to organize against the Schrunk Plaza rally.

Portland Police said they are prepared for Sunday.

"The City of Portland has not issued any permits for a street march and expects that any participants planning to hold a march to follow all laws and remain on sidewalks," said spokesman Pete Simpson.

The law enforcement and public safety partners who will help staff the events include, but are not limited to the following agencies:

• Portland Police Bureau
• Oregon State Police
• Multnomah County Sheriff's Office
• Federal Protective Service
• Department of Homeland Security
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• United States Attorney's Office
• Multnomah County District Attorney's Office
• Portland Fire & Rescue

"The Federal Protective Service stands with it partners within the Portland community to ensure the peaceful exercise of individual freedoms of demonstration and speech, while preserving and protecting the safety of all individuals on federal property," said Robert Sperling, director of Communications and Engagement for the Federal Protective Service.

On Monday, Wheeler called on organizers to cancel the protest and asked the federal government to withdraw the permit.

"Our city is in mourning, our community's anger is real, and the timing and subject of these events can only exacerbate an already difficult situation," Wheeler said. "Our community remains in shock.

"I am appealing to the organizers of the alt-right demonstrations to cancel the events they have scheduled for June 4th and June 10th," Wheeler continued. "I urge them to ask their supporters to stay away from Portland at this difficult time."

The mayor said that given the rawness of emotions in the city right now, he would like the federal government to withdraw the permit for the June 4 event and not issue one for June 10.

The Oregon chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says Wheeler's approach is a mistake and violates the First Amendment.

"The government cannot revoke or deny a permit based on the viewpoint of the demonstrators," it said in a statement.

"Our hearts are broken, but government censorship is not the answer," the chapter's legal director, Mat dos Santos, said. "We must defend the constitution even when it is uncomfortable."

On Wednesday, Wheeler said that as far as he is concerned, this was a safety issue, not a free speech issue.

"Portland has a proud history of protest," he said. "I am a firm supporter of the First Amendment, no matter the views expressed. I believe we had a case to make about the threats to public safety posed by this rally at this place and at this time.

"My job is to protect the safety of everyone… protesters, counter-protesters, and bystanders alike."

MEANWHILE, A SECOND PROTEST HAS BEEN CANCELED

Organizers of the march scheduled for June 10 — a "March Against Sharia" — now say they won't hold the event in Portland. They are moving it to Seattle.

They say that the mayor's comments has incited people who disagree with them and that holding the march would create a safety risk.

"In order to ensure the safety of those who had planned on attending, we have taken the decision to cancel the Portland March Against Sharia," organizers said on their Facebook page.

HELPING THE FAMILIES

Meanwhile, fundraising continues for the victims of Friday's incident and their families.

The page set up by Portland restaurateur Nick Zukin to help the families of the two men who were killed has now raised $541,330 from 10,523 people.

A page set up to help Fletcher, who survived, has raised $256,430 from 7,653 people.

A page set up to help the two girls who were the target of the vitriol that inspired three men to intervene has raised $77,035 from 2,279 people.

And a page set up by the Muslim community to help the families of the three stabbing victims has raised $534,786 from 10,303 people.

Photos Portland Police/Dyjuana Hudson via Facebook/Colin Miner