Antifa gunman who ‘killed Trump supporter’ styled himself as ‘security’ and called protests warfare
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The Antifa gunman suspected of fatally shooting a Trump supporter styled himself as a ‘security contractor’ for BLM protests, called protests ‘warfare’ and was shot in the elbow during a fight at another demonstration.
Michael Reinoehl, 48, was killed last night as a federal task force attempted to apprehend him in Lacey, Washington, a senior Justice Department official said. Reinoehl was the prime suspect in the killing of Aaron ‘Jay’ Danielson, 39, who was shot in the chest Saturday night, the official said.
In an interview with Vice released hours before his death, Reinoehl said he is a ‘former military contractor and father of two’ who provided ‘security’ for BLM protests.
On Instagram, he painted himself as ‘100% ANTIFA all the way’ – a man who is ‘willing to fight for my brothers and sisters’.
‘Every Revolution needs people that are willing and ready to fight,’ one post reads.
‘There are so many of us protesters that are just protesting without a clue of where that will lead. That’s just the beginning that’s where the fight starts. If that’s as far as you can take it thank you for your participation but please stand aside and support the ones that are willing to fight.
Self-declared Antifa member Michael Reinoehl, 48, was killed in a shoot-out last night after US Marshals tracked him down at his hideout in Washington State
On Instagram, Reinoehl had painted himself as ‘100% ANTIFA all the way’ – a man who is ‘willing to fight for my brothers and sisters’
In this post, from June 16, he claimed to have served in the army and ‘hated it’. He also wrote he was 100% ‘ANTIFA’ and says ‘We do not want violence but we will not run from it either’
‘I am 100% ANTIFA all the way! I am willing to fight for my brothers and sisters! Even if some of them are too ignorant to realize what antifa truly stands for. We do not want violence but we will not run from it either!
‘If the police continue to pick on and beat up innocent citizens that are peacefully voicing their objections, it must be met with equal force!’
The post goes on to briefly describe Reinhoel ‘hating’ being in the army and warning of an impending ‘fight like no other’. He says that ‘it will be a war and like all wars there will be casualties’, before adding that he needs his children to ‘live in a world run by Common Sense [sic].’
A US Army spokesperson told DailyMail.com last week they searched their service records for a 48-year-old Michael Forest Reinoehl and were ‘unable to locate this individual in our database.’
Last night’s shoot-out was not Reinoehl’s first brush with the law.
Police on 5 July cited him on allegations of possessing a loaded gun in a public place, resisting arrest and interfering with police.
On 26 July, 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 the 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.
The man’s friend began 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 protest medics so they could change it.
He said he didn’t know what had 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 jumped in, he pulled out a gun,’ Reinoehl said.
‘I jumped in there and pulled the gun away from people’s heads, avoided being shot in the stomach and I got shot in the arm.’
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 17-year-old son, who was in a different vehicle.
‘I 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’t going to do that,’ Reinoehl said in a clip of a video interview published by Vice News on Thursday
The news of his death last night broke as President Trump tweeted, ‘Why aren’t the Portland Police ARRESTING the cold blooded killer of Aaron ‘Jay’ Danielson. Do your job, and do it fast. Everybody knows who this thug is. No wonder Portland is going to hell! @TheJusticeDept @FBI.’
Much is known about Reinhoehl from his social media activism, appearance on Vice, and his criminal record. He had also been a regular presence at anti-racism demonstrations in Portland.
Just yesterday, Reinoehl spoke to Vice, suggesting his actions on the night Danielson was slayed had been self defense.
‘I 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’t going to do that,’ Reinoehl said in a clip of a video interview published by Vice News on Thursday.
In the fragment of video shown by Vice News ahead of the full interview’s release, he does not say outright that he shot Danielson.
Vice News reported that Reinoehl said he feared he and his friend would be stabbed, but he did not elaborate on this claim.
However, in a Fox News interview, one of Danielson’s friends refuted Reinoehl’s accusations, alleging the killing was a cold-blooded execution.
‘They came up behind us, they shot my friend and killed him,’ Chandler Pappas, who was next to the victim, said.
Video footage has emerged of a shooting in Portland which appeared to support his version of events.
In another post, Reinoehl can be seen lifting his shirt to show off battle wounds inflicted on him during a protest in Portland.
‘Tonight’s battle scar thanks to an [sic] nasty bean bag shot at me from 20 feet away! #blaklivesmatter [sic] #breonnataylor #anewnation’, he wrote.
In July, Reinhoel shared a text message he’d received on his Instagram account, which said: ‘Hey Mike, I’ve been getting word from a Patriot group on Facebook that the 4th of July, they are taking back the cities.
‘They might probably are hostile w [sic] arms. Watch your and your friends back and don’t get cought [sic] in a crossfire.’
The victim of Saturday night’s shooting in Portland was Aaron ‘Jay’ Danielson. He was a member of the right-wing group Patriot Prayer and also used the last name Bishop
His sister April Reinoehl, 36, believes the man caught on camera in a shooting in the downtown area of the riot-torn Oregon city was her brother – and even identified him to local police. This is one of the videos that was circulating on social media from Saturday’s shooting. It’s unclear if this is the image Reinoehl’s sister April had seen
Police arrived on the scene ‘within a minute’ of when gunshots rang out. The victim, later identified as Danielson, is seen wearing a hat with the insignia of Patriot Prayer, a right-wing group whose members have frequently clashed with protesters in Portland in the past
Portland police hold back a man who was friends with Danielson, the victim of Saturday night’s fatal shooting, minutes after the incident
His response to the message reads: ‘Thank you my friend we are ready.’
According to the Heavy.com, Reinoehl’s Facebook page, where he liked Bernie Sander’s page and described himself as a snowboarder, was filled with pictures of artwork and images of his children.
Last week Reinoehl’s sister exclusively spoke to DailyMail.com. April Reinoehl, 36, believed the man caught on camera in the shooting of Danielson was her brother, and identified him to local police.
In an interview at her Oregon home, April told DailyMail.com her brother had been estranged from their family for three years after stealing medication from their mother who has dementia.
For years he would verbally abuse and bring their mother to tears, she said, manipulating her into giving him what little spare money the single, retired teaching assistant had.
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