An unprovoked hate crime against a Black man has left communities in Branson, Missouri, on edge, and people online are calling for tougher charges against the perpetrator.
The unidentified victim was left bruised and beaten after an alleged surprise attack in an apartment complex by Kenneth K. Smith, a 40-year-old white man who was arrested on Feb. 13 and charged with third-degree assault.
According to the probable cause statement, Smith repeatedly yelled racial slurs as he punched the victim in the face and kicked him several times while he was on the ground.
“After he fell to the ground, Kenneth proceeded to kick Victim 1 in the back,” an eyewitness told police, adding that Smith called him “gorilla” several times throughout the attack. “Security footage corroborated this,” the probable cause statement read. “During this time in the video, Victim 1’s arms are seen rigid and sticking straight up as if they are locked into place, and he is unable to move them.”
Smith reportedly refused to back away, even after police arrived on the scene, and continued to fight and hurl racist slurs as he was being placed under arrest, per local news outlet Ozarks First. The police believe Smith recently moved to the apartment complex, and called the attack “unprovoked,” adding “there is no evidence tying Kenneth and Victim 1 to each other.”
Smith is now being held without bail at the Taney County Jail and is facing third-degree assault charges, a Class E felony, according to arrest records. The charge carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison. During a Feb. 17 video hearing from jail, Smith pleaded not guilty.
Concerned community members are calling for stricter charges. “Why is he not being charged for a hate crime?” asked one Facebook user after Robbie Harvey, a popular social media influencer, posted news about the incident to his millions of followers. Many people agreed, speculating that “This could definitely fall under a hate crime because of the racial slurs being used.”
Adding a hate crime charge would boost the offense to a class D felony, which involves higher fines and carries up to 7 years in prison in the state of Missouri.
This is also not Smith’s first brush with the law. He has a history of assault charges in Hannibal and Ralls County, in which he has entered multiple guilty pleas. His latest arrest occurred in 2023, in which he was charged with felony resisting arrest in Hannibal.
According to court records, the victim of the Feb 13 attack suffered swelling to his head and did not remember that he had been kicked several times.
