Federal task force kills Portland shooting suspect at time of arrest

A man suspected of fatally shooting a supporter of a right-wing group in Portland, Oregon, last week after a caravan of Donald Trump supporters rode through downtown was killed Thursday when investigators mobilized to arrest him. the U.S. Marshals Service said Friday.

The man, Michael Forest Reinoehl, 48, was killed when a federal task force tried to stop him in Lacey, Washington, about 120 miles north of Portland. Reinoehl was the prime suspect in the murder of Aaron “Jay” Danielson, 39, who was shot in the chest Saturday night, a senior Justice Department official told The Associated Press.

Federal agents from the FBI and the United States Marshals Service had located Reinoehl on Thursday after an arrest warrant was issued for him. During the encounter, Reinoehl was shot by a law enforcement officer working in the federal task force, the official said. The official was unable to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

The official said that Reinoehl had drawn a weapon during the encounter. The US Marshals Service said initial reports indicate that the suspect produced a firearm.

The U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Forces, comprised of deputy marshals, other federal officers, and local law enforcement officers from a variety of agencies, are responsible for arresting violent criminals and other wanted suspects.

Thurston County Sheriff’s Lt. Ray Brady said four members of the Fugitive Task Force fired their guns, including two Pierce County Sheriff’s officers, an officer from the Lakewood Police Department and an officer from the State Department of Corrections. from Washington.

Brady said investigators have not yet determined how many rounds were fired.

The suspect was alone at the time of the shooting, Brady said, with no children or others present.

Brady said he does not believe the suspect lived at the address where he was shot, and it is unclear what led him to Lacey.

“We don’t know that specifically yet,” Brady said. “I don’t think that was her residence.”

Reinoehl described himself in a social media post as “100% ANTIFA”, suggesting that the counter-protesters’ tactics amounted to “war” and he was shot in one protest and cited for having a weapon in another.

He had been a regular presence at anti-racism demonstrations in Portland.

On July 5, the police summoned Reinoehl on charges of possessing a loaded gun in a public place, resisting arrest and interfering with the police.

On July 26, Reinoehl was shot near the elbow after becoming involved in a fight between an armed white man and a group of young men of color. The man with the gun, Aaron Scott Collins, told The Oregonian / OregonLive that he and a friend had just left a bar when they saw the group stalking an older black man. His friend started filming them with a phone and the group confronted them, calling them Nazis, he said.

Reinoehl later that day spoke with an AP cameraman. Her arm was wrapped in a bloody bandage; He said he was on his way to meet the protest doctors so they could change him.

He said he did not know what started the altercation between Collins and the group, but that several people had decided to intervene when they saw Collins fighting with minors.

“As soon as the adults came in, he pulled out a gun,” Reinoehl said. “I jumped in there and took the gun away from people’s heads, avoided being shot in the stomach and shot in the arm.”

Reinoehl was also wanted by a warrant in Baker County in eastern Oregon, where court records show he missed a hearing related to a June case in which he has been charged with driving under the influence of controlled substances, reckless driving, reckless and illegal danger. possession of a firearm.

Police said she drove on an interstate at up to 179 kph, with her daughter in the car, while running with her 17-year-old son, who was in a different vehicle.

Protests have erupted daily in the Pacific Northwest city since George Floyd’s murder.

With rebel demonstrations in Portland approaching the 100-day mark, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and other Democratic leaders on Thursday called for an end to the violence, even as federal agents continued to arrest protesters who allegedly assaulted police officers. order.

“The violence must stop,” Brown wrote. “There is no room for white supremacy or vigilantism in Oregon. All who commit violent crimes must be held equally accountable.”

The statement does not highlight the small minority of leftist protesters who have been setting fires, destroying buildings and throwing objects at police. But Brown’s spokesman Charles Boyle said “it is a collective call to action to end the violence in Portland and affirms that those who commit violence must be held accountable.”

Brown’s condemnation of the violence was also signed by nearly two dozen state and local politicians, a number of organizations including the local chapter of the NAACP, and the city’s professional sports teams: the Trailblazers NBA team, the football team. Timbers and the Thorns women’s soccer team.

Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell denounced protesters who smashed windows and set fire to a business this week in the luxurious apartment building where Mayor Ted Wheeler lives. Protesters are angry that Wheeler has not stopped officers from using batons and tear gas against Black Lives Matter protesters. Wheeler is now reportedly planning to move out of the building.

A week ago, 74 people faced federal charges for crimes allegedly committed during demonstrations in Portland since at least May 29, said US Attorney Billy Williams.

– AP