Antifa protester linked to shooting death of Patriot Prayer supporter claims self-defense

An Antifa protester has said he acted in self defense during the fatal shooting of a supporter of a right-wing group in Portland, Oregon.

‘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,’ Michael Reinoehl, 48, said in a video interview published by Vice News on Thursday 

Aaron ‘Jay’ Danielson, 39, was fatally shot on Saturday as he was leaving a political demonstration in support of President Donald Trump. Reinoehl has not been arrested or charged in the case as yet.

Reinoehl did not say he shot Danielson in the fragment of video shown by Vice News before the full interview is aired on Thursday night, but did say his actions that night were in self-defense.

Vice News reported that Reinoehl said he feared he and his friend would be stabbed, but the portions of the interview released so far do not elaborate on this claim.

Bystander video of the shooting appears to show Danielson crossing the street toward a parking garage, before someone shouts ‘We got another Trumper!’ 

Another person is heard asking ‘Here?’ immediately before two shots ring out. 

Reinoehl emerged as a suspect in the case after The Oregonian newspaper reported he was under investigation in the killing, which took place after Danielson, a supporter of the Patriot Prayer group, participated in a rally in support of Trump.

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

Reinoehl, a self-declared ‘100% Antifa’, was active in Black Lives Matter demonstrations against racism and police brutality in Portland that have gone on for nearly 100 days, according to messages and videos on his Instagram feed.

Antifa is a far-left movement that is anti-capitalist, and which seeks to confront those it views as racist or authoritarian. 

Reinoehl said in posts on Facebook and Instagram he was a professional snowboarder and a U.S. Army veteran and was prepared to fight ‘to change the course of humanity.’

However, a US Army spokesperson told DailyMail.com they searched their service records for a 48-year-old Michael Forest Reinoehl and were ‘unable to locate this individual in our database.’ 

The Stolen Valor Act of 2013 states it is a federal crime to fraudulently claim military service in order to get money or any other kind of benefit. 

In the Vice interview, Reinoehl said that he is a ‘former military contractor’ who provided ‘security’ for Black Lives Matter protests. 

‘I am 100% ANTIFA,’ Reinoehl said in a June 16 post, using the term for the anti-fascist movement. 

‘We truly have an opportunity right now to fix everything. But it will be a fight like no other! It will be a war and like all wars there will be casualties.’

His Facebook page says he is from Gresham, Oregon, a community around 15 miles east of Portland.

Reinoehl had been previously accused of taking a loaded gun to an earlier Portland protest and social media posts show him attending Black Lives Matter protests.

And the 48-year-old former professional snowboarder has had several previous run-ins with the police. 

In June, he was charged for allegedly racing with his 17-year-old son at speeds of up to 111mph on Interstate 84 with his 11-year-old daughter in the passenger seat.

Police said they found ‘usable amounts of marijuana and unidentified prescription pills’ in Reinoehl’s 2005 Cadillac STS and a loaded, concealed Glock pistol.

The father of two was charged with driving under the influence of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a firearm. 

The full interview with Reinoehl will air at 11pm ET on Thursday on Vice News Tonight.