An illustration shows rows of people with ski masks over their faces.

Dying For A Fight

"Dying For A Fight," the second installment in Somethin’ Else’s "Fault Line" series, investigates the killing of Sean Kealiher, an anti-fascist and anarchist. In 2019, months before the uprising that would bring Portland international attention, Kealiher was killed while leaving a bar that was a known hangout for Portland's anti-fascists. Nearly two years later, his homicide remains unsolved, and his mother believes police hatred for her son, and his politics, is the reason why. "Dying For A Fight" takes you on a personal level into the lives of those at America’s political extremes. This show is a co-production with Oregon Public Broadcasting.

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Episodes

‘Dying for a Fight’ Episode 1: The Death of Sean Kealiher

Sean Kealiher was killed Oct. 12, 2019, near a popular bar for Portland’s anti-fascist scene. An SUV ran him over and crashed outside the Democratic Party of Oregon headquarters. Gunshots rang out through the night sky, and whoever was driving fled the scene, leaving the vehicle behind. Now, almost two years later, his mother Laura Kealiher is demanding police answer why his killing remains unsolved.


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A crowd of demonstrators gathered at Pioneer Courthouse Square on Jan. 20, 2017, and began marching through downtown Portland in protest of the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

‘Dying for a Fight’ Episode 2: A fight brews

In this episode, we look at who was in the streets leading up to one of the most significant years in American protests, and what brought them there.


Jeremy Joseph Christian (center wearing American flag), the man accused of a fatal stabbing on the MAX train, attended the April 29 "March for Free Speech" on 82nd Avenue.

‘Dying for a Fight’ Episode 3: It’s a conspiracy

Oregon’s long history of racism was what brought Sean Kealiher and so many protesters like him to the streets. That history is part of the reason Laura Kealiher believes Portland police aren't solving her son's killing.



‘Dying for a Fight’ Episode 5: It’s personal

After Sean Kealiher was killed, his mother Laura was subjected to brutal harassment from conservative trolls at her home and online—and it was Sean’s antifascist friends who provided her security, not the Portland police.



Over 1000 protesters march across Portland towards the Multnomah County Justice Center in downtown Portland on May 29, 2020. The protests were against racist violence and police brutality.

‘Dying for a Fight’ Episode 6 — Summer 2020

The uprising of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 swept the country. As many as 1 in 10 adult Americans attended a protest. They got a taste of the world Sean Kealiher had been inhabiting for years before he was killed. And in Portland, the culture war over race and politics would turn deadly.





Sean Kealiher speaks at a rally following the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States on Nov. 11, 2016, in Portland, Ore. Kealiher was killed in a hit and run outside Cider Riot! in Portland on Oct. 12, 2019. Police are investigating it as a homicide.

Portland Police arrest man for the 2019 murder of leftist activist

Portland police announced Thursday they have made an arrest in the 2019 high-profile murder of a local anti-fascist. The case has drawn national attention in the years since, largely due to local activists’ insistence that police were not actively trying to find those involved in the murder of Sean Kealiher because of his political views.



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