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Man who allegedly shot Portland Trump supporter killed in arrest

Michael Reinoehl, believed to have shot and killed a right-wing counterprotester in Portland, Oregon, was fatally shot by federal officers during an arrest. Law enforcement focused in on Mr. Reinoehl after he appeared to say in an interview that he had killed Aaron Danielson.

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The man believed to have fatally shot a supporter of President Donald Trump following skirmishes between Black Lives Matter protesters and a pro-Trump caravan in Portland, Oregon, was a regular at the demonstrations that have roiled the Northwest city for months.

Michael Forest Reinoehl, 48, had described himself in a social media post as 鈥�100% ANTIFA,鈥� and suggested the tactics of counter-protesters amounted to 鈥渨arfare.鈥� He had been shot at one protest and cited for having a gun at another.

Mr. Reinoehl was himself killed Thursday when he pulled a gun as a federal task force attempted to apprehend him near Lacey, Washington, the U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement.

The arrest attempt came shortly after Mr. Reinoehl gave an interview to VICE News in which he appeared to acknowledge having killed Aaron 鈥淛ay鈥� Danielson on Saturday. In the interview, Mr. Reinoehl said he 鈥渉ad no choice鈥� but to do what he did because he thought he and his friend were about to be stabbed.

鈥淵ou know, lots of lawyers suggest that I shouldn鈥檛 even be saying anything, but I feel it鈥檚 important that the world at least gets a little bit of what鈥檚 really going on,鈥� Mr. Reinoehl told the TV news program. 鈥淚 had no choice. I mean, I, I had a choice. I could have sat there and watched them kill a friend of mine of color. But I wasn鈥檛 going to do that.鈥�

His sister said in a text message to AP that she told police he appeared to be a person caught on video running from the scene of the fatal shooting. She provided the statement on the condition of anonymity, citing dozens of threats her family had received since people online identified him from a video of the shooting.

Mr. Danielson was fatally shot in the chest Aug. 29 after some participants in a caravan of Trump supporters, estimated at about 600 cars, drove downtown and encountered Black Lives Matter protesters. Skirmishes broke out, with people in the caravan firing paintball weapons at people in the street. Video taken by a live-streamer appeared to show Mr. Danielson, a member of the right-wing group Patriot Prayer, spraying pepper spray just before he was shot.

Earlier, on July 5, police cited Mr. Reinoehl on allegations of possessing a loaded gun in a public place, resisting arrest, and interfering with police.

On July 26, Mr. Reinoehl was shot near his elbow after he got involved in a scuffle between an armed white man and a group of young people of color. The man who was carrying that gun, Aaron Scott Collins, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that he and a friend had just left a bar when they saw the group harassing an older Black man. His friend began filming them with a phone, and the group confronted them, calling them Nazis, he said.

In the ensuing scuffle, Mr. Collins said, he was struck in the head with a skateboard and fell down. He felt people trying to grab his gun from its holster, and he decided to pull it out to get control of it. Mr. Reinoehl, whom he did not know, then began grabbing at the slide, Mr. Collins said.

Mr. Reinoehl later that day spoke to an AP videographer. His arm was wrapped in a bloody bandage; he said he was on his way to meet protest medics so they could change it.

He said he didn鈥檛 know what had started the altercation between Mr. Collins and the group, but that several people had decided to intervene when they saw Mr. Collins fighting with minors.

鈥淎s soon as the adults jumped in, he pulled out a gun,鈥� Mr. Reinoehl said. 鈥淚 jumped in there and pulled the gun away from people鈥檚 heads, avoided being shot in the stomach and I got shot in the arm.鈥�

He added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 escalating to a point where they鈥檙e trying to disrupt us in every way that鈥檚 illegal. They鈥檙e shooting at us, they鈥檙e sending people in who are starting fights. It鈥檚 terrible. ... It鈥檚 warfare.鈥�

Mr. Reinoehl was also wanted on a warrant out of Baker County in eastern Oregon, where court records show he skipped a hearing related to a June case in which he has been charged with driving under the influence of controlled substances, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Police said he drove on an interstate at up to 111 mph, with his daughter in the car, while racing his teenage son, who was in a different vehicle. His daughter also has attended protests with him; at one, she was photographed carrying a baseball bat.

鈥淚鈥檓 trying to give her an education,鈥� he told the AP. 鈥淪he鈥檚 going to be contributing to running this new country that we鈥檙e fighting for.鈥�

Mr. Reinoehl wrote on his Facebook page that he was a professional snowboarder for Deviation, a Portland ski and snowboard company, and he posted several videos of himself and his son snowboarding. But in a statement Monday, Deviation said Mr. Reinoehl had never been an employee or sponsored athlete of the company.

One friend who knows Mr. Reinoehl through snowboarding said he had been sponsored by various companies over the years and had sometimes won 鈥渂ig air鈥� competitions 鈥� to the point that his nickname became 鈥淏ig Mike.鈥� The friend described him as 鈥渁 really nice guy, a gentle giant鈥� who sometimes fashioned himself into 鈥渁 defender role.鈥� The friend spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing threats he had received online. He sent Mr. Reinoehl a message recently to ask if he was all right; Mr. Reinoehl hadn鈥檛 responded, he said.

In her text message, Mr. Reinoehl鈥檚 sister said they were never close and she had been estranged from him for the past three years.

She said she learned about his potential involvement in the shooting when she received a threatening phone call Sunday 鈥� the first of 60 that day.

鈥淰iolence and hate are never acceptable,鈥� she added. 鈥淲hen people use violence to fight for peace and equality, all we get is more violence, and the cause suffers.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writer Michael Balsamo in Washington, D.C. contributed to this report.