ANDY NGO REPORTS: Exclusive details about ‘disturbing and gruesome’ video capturing murder of Portland taxi driver by trans suspect

Moses Jacob Lopez, 30, has been charged with second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon over the stabbing murder of a Radio Cab driver on Easter Sunday in southeast Portland. Six days before the murder, Lopez was arrested and charged with felonies for allegedly threatening a BiMart shopper with a knife in another Oregon county. Lopez was quickly released without bail before making her way to Portland from Coos Bay, Ore.

According to the source, the video captured Lopez entering the car while wearing a tiara and women’s clothing. She gives an address to the driver and several minutes into the ride, Lopez suddenly plunged a blade deep into the neck of the unsuspecting driver.

LGBTQ+ activist Moses Jacob Lopez is accused of stabbing a Portland cab driver to death on Easter Sunday

“[It was the] most disturbing and gruesome video I have seen,” says the source. The source says Lopez used her left hand to hold the driver’s head as the blade was stabbed in his throat. Blood spilled everywhere and the suspect left the vehicle, the source says.

On Wednesday evening, police named the deceased victim as 43-year-old Reese McDowell Lawhon. A spokesman for Radio Cab told local media their driver had recently found his biological parents and was hoping to meet them for the first time.

Reese McDowell Lawhon, 43, was stabbed to death while driving a taxi in Portland

Moses Jacob Lopez used her social media to advocate for LGBTQ+ causes

At Lopez’s arraignment on Monday, she pleaded not guilty to both charges. She wore her hair in a bun and still had eye makeup visible.

Portland Police originally delayed releasing the suspect’s name by a day even though Lopez was already in custody. The police would not confirm to TPM if Lopez is transgender. After multiple inquiries to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, the office confirmed on Wednesday that Lopez identified herself as a transgender woman while in jail.

The Sheriff’s Office sent TPM a statement: “Lopez reported during the booking process that they identify as a transgender female. Per our policy, an adult in custody (AIC) who identifies as transgender shall be housed in a sheltered housing unit for up to 72 hours, excluding weekends and holidays, while the Transgender Review Board assesses appropriate housing options that address safety, risk for abuse and minimizing perceived or actual fear of becoming a victim of violence.”

While police have not released any information about a possible motive, the Easter Sunday stabbing murder happened in the context of a surge of trans activists encouraging violence and making threats on social media as revenge for several states restricting the medical transitioning of minors.

Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan (left) wears a shirt suggesting violence to ‘protect’ trans people

Lopez’s social media posts suggest she began transitioning around 2019. In a 2015 Facebook post, she wrote: “At times I wish I was a woman rather then [sic] a feminen [sic] gay man just so I could deck a basic bitch in the face…so annoying.” Lopez’s posts often featured symbols and slogans of LGBTQ+ activism.

Lopez worked as a certified nursing assistant for around a decade but Oregon state nursing records show she was fired from an unnamed medical facility in June 2021.

“Information gathered in the [Oregon State Board of Nursing]’s investigation show that from 2019 through 2021, CNA engaged in abusive and threatening behavior towards co-workers,” reads the probation order from February 2022.

Lopez appears to have had addresses in both Portland and Coos Bay. Her next court date is scheduled for April 18 and she remains in custody.