The shooting of a respected volunteer at a racial justice protest in Portland, Oregon, last weekend has roiled the activist community in the city. Benjamin Smith was charged with murder on Tuesday after police say he shot at a group of demonstrators at a protest against police violence. Police say he killed June Knightly and wounded four others. Knightly was known as a peacemaker who tried to keep people safe during protests. She was working as a traffic safety volunteer on the night of her death when she was killed in a protest for justice for the two Black men who were killed by police in Minnesota. Friends and local advocates of Knightly said the violence was predictable in Portland, which has seen far-right gatherings and chaotic and sometimes violent protests in the last year. Despite its liberal reputation, the region has a dark history of white supremacy and racist hate crimes. The acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse, who killed two men at an anti-racism demonstration in Wisconsin, came three months after the violence against protesters. Extremists will commit more acts of violence because of Rittenhouse's court victory, radicalized online, and encouraged by some Republicans. Smith confronted the protesters at Normandale Park at about 8 pm local time on Saturday and demanded they leave the area. Smith was told to leave the activists alone. Smith aggressively approached one of them, who pushed him back. According to court records, he began shooting moments later. Knightly and four other people were hit. One of the women who was wounded told the New York Times that Knightly and three other women who were wounded were not directly part of the march. She said that the man called them terrorists and slurs before shooting them. Smith was shot, officials said. The individual who was initially arrested is not facing charges and was not named in the charging documents. One of the victims was struck in the neck and is paralyzed, another was seriously injured and the other two were discharged from the hospital. Smith was hospitalized after being hit in the hip. Smith's roommate said that she and others in their apartment complex were devastated but not surprised to learn of the shooting. Christenson said she had been living with Smith for seven years, but felt unsafe in her own home. She said in an email that Smith had become radicalized and was slipping over the past few years. Christenson said she tried to keep her distance, but that she heard him listening to Alex Jones. She said Smith wore a Kyle Rittenhouse shirt and talked angrily about leftwing protesters, Black Lives Matter and unhoused people living on the streets. The city has seen a lot of protests since the George Floyd uprisings of 2020 and there have been occasional skirmishes between anti-fascist activists and far-right protesters. The response from law enforcement leaders only made the situation worse. The initial statement from the Portland Police Bureau said the shooting had stated a confrontation between an armed homeowner and protesters. Smith went to the demonstration down the street from his apartment because he was not a homeowner. The narrative spread quickly in national media. Kevin Allen did not say why the original press release referred to a homeowner, but he said in an email that the use of the term was never intended. He said that the department tries to remember the victims and their loved ones in communications and that there was a lot of pressure to release information in real time. The city later changed its statement to say that Smith was an armed area resident, but to advocates the mistake was part of a pattern of misrepresenting racial justice protesters and failing to address the threats of the far-right. PPB critics point to a list of recent scandals: at one protest in Portland, federal officers allowed a member of a rightwing patriot to help arrest an anti-fascist activist. Sandy Chung is the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon. There were at least one dead and five wounded in Portland. The executive director of the Oregon Justice Resource Center said that the shooting was predictable and inevitable. He wants Portland's mayor, Ted Wheeler, to resign and for the PPB leadership to be dismantled. After a year of protests, Wheeler said he wanted to "unmask" protesters and that it was time to hurt them. Chung said that Mayor Wheeler has not set up the systems and policies and culture where there is accountability. The executive director of Don't Shoot Portland said that the rhetoric against protesters was meant to discourage people from marching against police brutality. She said that officials' rhetoric hinders the progress we need to make as a society. After the killing, her group canceled an art gallery show and paused outreach and mutual aid efforts due to safety concerns. We know that there are valid threats. The mayor's spokesman referred the Guardian to Wheeler's press conference on Tuesday, where he was asked if he regretted his past comments. He said that he used a statement that could be used for political gain. Allen said that there are tensions with some members of the community and that they don't feel comfortable talking to the police. It wasn't clear if Smith had a lawyer, and he couldn't be reached for comment. Knightly had a very strong sense of justice, which became more visceral after, according to an email from Knightly's wife. She never became cynical and always believed there were enough good people out there to change things for the better. They are the most good-hearted people she has ever known, prepared to sacrifice their lives to protect protesters and their right to free speech. She didn't know that she was describing herself as well. Raiford said that Knightly, also known as T-Rex, would volunteer to help with transportation for people with disabilities during protests. She would help people get through the chaos. There is a lot of trauma when you are protesting. She was able to see when people were hurting. She was about taking care of people. Knightly had compassion for people because she knew what it was like to not have a lot. June was incredibly introspective, as she said she and Knightly had long conversations about how to be most impactful with activism. She thought about what she was doing. They didn't talk much about the dangers of protesting, but they did acknowledge that you might be killed if you get out there. Knightly was working on traffic safety before the march began. A reference to one of the victim's injuries was removed after a witness said the affidavit contained an error. 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‘Radicalized and angry’
‘They blamed the victims’
‘She was dedicated to service’
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