Federal task force kills Portland shooting suspect at arrest

A guy suspected of fatally shooting a supporter of a right-wing group in Portland, Oregon, the other day after a caravan of Donald Trump backers rode through downtown was killed Thursday as investigators moved directly into arrest him, the U.S. Marshals Service said Friday.

The man, Michael Forest Reinoehl, 48, was killed as a federal task force attempted to apprehend him in Lacey, Washington, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) north of Portland. Reinoehl was the prime suspect in the killing of 39-year-old Aaron “Jay” Danielson, who was simply shot in the chest Saturday night, a senior Justice Department official told The Associated Press.

Federal agents from the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service had located Reinoehl on Thursday after a warrant was issued for his arrest. Through the encounter, Reinoehl was shot by a police officer who was focusing on the federal task force, the official said. The official cannot discuss the problem publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

The state said Reinoehl had pulled a gun during the encounter. The U.S. Marshals Service said initial reports indicate the suspect produced a firearm.

The U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task forces, made up of deputy marshals, other federal agents and local law enforcement officers from various agencies, are responsible for apprehending violent felons and other wanted suspects.

Thurston County Sheriff’s Lt. Ray Brady said four members of the fugitive task force fired their weapons, including two Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies, an officer from the Lakewood Police Department and an officer from the Washington STATE DEPT. of Corrections.

Brady said investigators haven’t yet determined how many rounds were fired.

The suspect was alone during the shooting, Brady said, without children or other persons present.

Brady said he doesn’t think the suspect lived at the address where he was shot, and it’s not yet determined what brought him to Lacey.

“We don’t know that specifically yet,” Brady said. “I really do not believe was his residence.”

Reinoehl had described himself in a social media post as “100% ANTIFA,” suggested the tactics of counter-protesters amounted to “warfare,” and had been shot at one protest and cited for having a gun at another.

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

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

On July 26, Reinoehl was shot near his elbow after he got involved with a scuffle between an armed white man and several young persons of color. The person who was carrying the gun, Aaron Scott Collins, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that he and a pal had just left a bar when they saw the group harassing a mature 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 to an AP videographer. His arm was wrapped in a bloody bandage; he said he was on his way to meet up protest medics so they could change it out.

He said he didn’t know what had started the altercation between Collins and the group, but that several persons had made a decision to intervene if they saw Collins fighting with minors.

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

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

Police said he drove on an interstate at up to 111 mph (179 kph), along with his daughter in the automobile, while racing his 17-year-old son, who was simply in a different vehicle.

Protests have erupted daily in the Pacific Northwest city since the killing of George Floyd.

With unruly demonstrations in Portland nearing the 100-day mark, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and other Democratic leaders on Thursday needed an end to violence even while federal agents were continuing to arrest protesters who allegedly assaulted law enforcement officers.

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

The statement will not single out the small minority of left-wing protesters who've been setting fires, vandalizing buildings and throwing objects at police. But Brown’s spokesman, Charles Boyle, said it “is a collective proactive approach for a finish to violence in Portland and affirms that those that commit violent acts should be held accountable.”

Brown’s condemnation of violence was also signed by almost two-dozen state and local politicians, a host of organizations like the local NAACP chapter, and the city’s professional sports teams: the Trailblazers NBA team, the Timbers soccer team and the Thorns women’s soccer squad.

Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell has denounced protesters who broke windows and set a fire this week to a business in the upscale 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 now reportedly plans to go out of your building.

As of yesterday, 74 people were facing federal costs for crimes allegedly committed during demonstrations in Portland since at least May 29, U.S. Attorney Billy Williams said.