Antifa member suspected in fatal Portland shooting of conservative activist killed by federal authorities

Chuck Ross, DCNF

Antifa supporter Michael Forest Reinoehl was killed Thursday night when federal authorities attempted to arrest him in connection with the fatal shooting of a conservative activist in Portland over the weekend, according to multiple media reports.

Three law enforcement officials told The New York Times that Reinoehl was killed in Lacey, Wash., after a federal task force attempted to arrest him in connection to the shooting of Aaron Danielson, a member of the conservative group Patriot Prayer.

The Washington Post reported that a task force officer shot Reinoehl as he pulled a firearm while authorities attempted to take him into custody.

Danielson, 39, died after sustaining a gunshot wound to the chest in Portland on Saturday night. He was with a group of Trump supporters who showed up at Black Lives Matter protests held in Portland.

Reinoehl, 48, attended several Black Lives Matter protests in recent months, according to his Instagram page. He was reported to be a person of interest in the Danielson shooting, though authorities previously refused to confirm he was a suspect in the case.

The Times reported Thursday that Reinoehl was being investigated in connection with the shooting.

Reinoehl appeared in a VICE News interview that aired minutes before The Times reported his death on Thursday.

Reinoehl did not directly admit to shooting Danielson in the interview, though he said he was “confident that I didn’t hit anyone innocent.” He suggested that he was protecting a friend prior to the shooting.

WATCH:

“I had no choice. I mean…I had a choice. I could have sat there and watched them kill a friend of mine of color. But I wasn’t going to do that,” Reinoehl said in the interview.

Reinoehl expressed support for Antifa, a loosely organized left-wing group, in several social media posts, while comparing protests over police brutality to war.

“I am 100% ANTIFA all the way!” he wrote in a post on Instagram on June 16. “We do not want violence but we will not run from it either!”

Reinoehl wrote of protests that, “like all wars there will be casualties”

Reinoehl had been charged twice in recent months with illegal possession of a loaded firearm, including at an incident at a protest in Portland on July 5.

The Portland police department posted a photo on its Twitter account of Reinoehl being apprehended while a gun laid on the ground next to him.

A spokesman for the department told The Daily Caller News Foundation earlier on Thursday that Reinoehl was issued a notice to appear for the gun charge the day of the incident, but didn’t show up.

The city of Portland rejected a public records request for a police report of the incident, citing an ongoing investigation.

Reinoehl was cited on June 8 with illegal gun possession after he was pulled over driving 111-mph on Interstate 84 near Portland. Reinoehl’s 11-year-old daughter was in the vehicle at the time, leading to a reckless endangerment charge.

The Portland police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!

Success! Thank you for donating. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies.

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

BPR INSIDER COMMENTS

Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!

Latest Articles