Earlier this month, a Portland man was brutally stabbed to death protecting his transgender-identifying friend from a convicted criminal, who was allegedly targeting the "LGBTQ+ person." More than two weeks later, why haven't we heard about this seemingly "anti-trans" hate-fueled murder on the streets of an ultra-liberal haven? It's self-evident: The suspect is black.
The homicide victim, 32-year-old Colin Michael Smith, a white male, was with friends outside of the High Dive Bar in the early hours of July 2 just before 2:00 a.m. when a black man—whom authorities have now identified as 24-year-old Rahnique Usef Jackson—targeted and harassed an LGBTQ+ member of Smith's group, witnesses allege. Smith reportedly stepped in, sticking up for his friend, who identifies as a transgender woman. That's when Jackson allegedly stabbed Smith several times, killing him.
Smith holding his cat, Smokey, who "meant the world to him" | Courtesy of Smith's family
"It was a hate crime," the victim's sister, Danielle Smith, told KOIN News in a TV interview. "She was trans [allegedly the intended target], he [the suspect] didn't like it, and Colin—defending his friend—was in the way. And that's what happened. It's just tragic."
Fleeing the scene of the fatal Sunday stabbing, Jackson evaded law-enforcement capture for days until he was arrested by members of the U.S. Marshals Service on Friday, July 7, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) announced in a press release. Jackson was then transferred to the bureau's homicide unit, interrogated by PPB detectives, and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of second-degree murder, a Class A felony, and unlawful use of a weapon, a Class C felony.
And last week, a grand jury indicted Jackson, represented by a court-appointed public defender, on those charges plus a bias crime in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced Thursday via press statement his office issued. Jackson is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday when he's slated to plead guilty or not guilty.
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While the vast majority of national news sites have yet to pick up this story of anti-transgender persecution resulting in a late-night street slaying, the local media have sanitized their headlines. The Oregonian, the Portland-based newspaper of record, titled its article on Jackson's arrest, "Man arrested in last week's stabbing in SE Portland," and the Portland Tribune similarly published a piece, "Suspect arrested in killing of popular Portland restaurant worker," with no mention of the apparent motive.
Like illegal alien Gerson Fuentes, who repeatedly raped a 10-year-old Ohio girl, and Black Lives Matter ideologue Darrell E. Brooks, who mass murdered senior citizens and a child attending a Christmas parade, Jackson is afforded non-editorialized descriptors absent of modifiers and the go-to flourishes that the vulturous, pouncing media oft-employs to politicize a tragedy.
Of course, if the races were reversed in this tragic case of interracial violence, and Jackson were a white man accused of murdering a black victim, we would know every single aspect of the suspect's life down to the most minute details: where he went to high school, his mother's maiden name, the first car he owned, etc. Reports of a "white supremacist," "transphobic" murderer knifing an "LGBTQ ally" would be spotlighted on the front page of The Washington Post and be center stage in CNN's coverage.
Also telling: You won't find Jackson's mugshot anywhere.
You won't see his face plastered across the Internet like other accused anti-trans bigots. The local outlets, whose reporters are adept at navigating Oregon's public records policies, haven't done their due diligence in locating and publishing a mugshot of Jackson, who was previously convicted of strangulation in 2019 and sentenced to 18 months of supervised probation after violating the firearms provision of a soft-on-crime deferred sentencing program. (Jackson's harassment charge was dismissed and felony fourth-degree assault accusation was dropped in the 2018 case prior to his firearms violation.)
Via public records request, Townhall has obtained a digital copy of Jackson's booking photo from 2018:
Jackson's 2018 booking page | Courtesy of Multnomah County Sheriff's Office (MCSO)
However, a corrections records coordinator with the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) denied Townhall's written request formally asking for Jackson's mugshot in the Smith murder case. "Unfortunately, we cannot provide a photo at this time. Oregon law requires a conviction on the case before we can provide the booking photo," the records officer responded in an email.
MCSO's communications department also pointed Townhall to the statewide law, House Bill 3273, which took effect in January 2022, as modified by Section 8 of Senate Bill 48, restricting the release of booking photos, except under certain circumstances: 1) to the suspect; 2) to another police agency; 3) to the public if it serves "a law enforcement purpose;" and 4) upon conviction.
(At the time, MCSO notified the public that it is no longer making mugshots publicly available, as previously posted on MCSO's inmate roster. A disclaimer now sits on the MCSO site, declaring that the sheriff's office is acting in compliance with the state legislation that's sympathetic to suspects. MCSO's procedural manual has also been updated to reflect the legislative change.)
Since its passage, which was celebrated by serial arrestees and career criminals, the Democrat-pushed package has protected the privacy of violent offenders and hindered critical reporting on political violence that frequently rocks riot-torn Portland. Most impacted is journalist Andy Ngo, who unmasked a horde of far-left militants jailed during the city's 2020 Antifa-BLM uprisings.
In reaction to me releasing mugshots of criminal suspects arrested at violent BLM-Antifa riots after George Floyd died, Oregon Democrat lawmakers pushed through a bill banning the release of mugshots starting on 1 January, 2022. #Antifa & leftist accounts have been celebrating. pic.twitter.com/eYo9VZCBdt
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) January 3, 2022
When asked by Townhall why police didn't release Jackson's 2018 post-conviction mugshot during the multi-day manhunt for the fugitive to ask the public to help identify the murder suspect's whereabouts, given that "assistance with the apprehension of a fugitive or a suspect in a criminal investigation" is defined as serving "a law enforcement purpose," PPB's public information officer replied via email:
Detectives typically do not release photographs of wanted suspects for a variety of reasons. I'm speaking generally here, not specifically about this case. I do not know the specifics here and given that this is an active homicide case we would not discuss those reasons at this stage.
But again, speaking generally, having information about a suspect, or even probable cause, does not necessarily mean that there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the suspect in question committed the crime. Detectives and District Attorneys have an extraordinarily high bar to achieve to convince a jury unanimously that the crime was committed and the suspect on trial committed it. We may believe things happened the way they did, we might even be sure they did, but we have to have evidence. And remember, evidence has to be obtained in just the right way. If we make even a small mistake, evidence could be suppressed later and that might be the difference between a conviction and an acquittal. We owe it to the crime victim’s family to do everything we can to seek justice for the memory of their loved one and seek appropriate consequences for the perpetrator. It’s not unusual for detectives to have probable cause to arrest someone, but then get additional information in a custodial interview. Or they may find evidence after being granted a search warrant by a judge after information came to light post-arrest. If we telegraphed to a suspect that we wanted to arrest him or her by putting the photograph out there, they will know that we are onto them. They may hide, change their pattern of behavior, or dispose of evidence.
The only LGBTQ+ outlets covering the case as an "anti-trans attack" includes the PGH Lesbian Correspondents, whose write-up was cited by gay-news site Them in its story on Smith's murder "motivated by transphobia" and "misdirected anti-trans hostility." "Rest in power, Colin. Your heroism will forever be part of your story..." the self-styled SJW blog in Pittsburgh wrote, aptly adding: "But the sacrifice of...Colin will likely not receive much media attention although [he's a] victim of this hate." Leave it to the Steel City lesbians to be the first to find the obscure out-of-state West Coast story and condemn anti-trans bigotry regardless of race.
The slain Portlander died heroically as "a protector," Smith's former partner, Paulina Solinas, told KOIN News. "He was always someone that rooted for the underdog," Solinas said of Smith, who is said to have left behind a "legacy of acceptance and love."
"He always looked out for the people that got overlooked," Solinas added.
His sister, Danielle, said: "He always had your back" and "He'd obviously risk his own life for his friends and what he believed in."
Danielle said she is "shocked" to see this happen in Portland, though Smith's death marks the 43rd homicide and third fatal stabbing in the crime-ridden City of Roses halfway through this year. 2022 saw a record 101 homicides and eight fatal stabbings.
"It shouldn't have happened anywhere, but it's scary and I just don't think anyone should be scared to defend your friends because of this," she said. "We have to have more Colins out there, you know, and slowly there can be some change maybe."
Smith, a beloved server at Portland's traditional Argentinian-inspired Ox restaurant, aspired to open his own eatery one day, Danielle told OregonLive.com. As a child, Smith wanted to be "a rainbow" when he grew up. "Everyone felt like Colin was such a bright light for them," Smith's ex, Solinas, said. Known by friends and family as "one of the most empathetic" individuals who "loved people from all walks of life," Smith religiously called his mother twice a day to check in on her. He was her best friend.
Ox's owners have launched a GoFundMe page to financially support Smith's family. To date, the funeral fund has raised $28,000.
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