The man who fatally shot a woman protesting at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Portland has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other charges, according to a New York Times report.
According to authorities, Benjamin Smith, 44, approached a group of protestors at a local park near his residence and ordered them to leave. One of the demonstrators responded that he should go home instead. He then pushed the protestor, leading the protestor to push him back. He then began to yell at the group, brandished his gun and fired at them.
Brandy Knightly, 60, was struck in the head at close range and was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities say.
Four others were injured in the attack, including one who was struck in the neck and is now paralyzed from the neck down. Three others were shot in several places and hospitalized. They have since been released.
A court affidavit states Smith was also shot in the hip during the incident.
Katherine Knapp, Knightly’s wife, told KOIN 6 that “today, we can take some small satisfaction in knowing Benjamin Smith finally had to accept the truth and concede the fact that he is guilty as charged.”
One of those injured, Dajah Beck, said in a recent interview that she, the deceased and two others were not protesting at the event but were part of a “volunteer motorcade that was helping to set up a safety plan and reroute traffic ahead of the marchers,” according to The New York Times.
According to Kristine Christenson, the suspects’ roommate, he had been radicalized in recent years, and would frequently profess his hate for Antifa, Black Lives Matter and “those damn commies.”
Smith faces life in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced April 18.
