Suspect in fatal Portland shooting killed by law enforcement during arrest attempt
By Phil Helsel/NBC News
A suspect who earlier appeared to admit to the fatal shooting of a man who had been part of a pro-Trump caravan in Portland, Oregon, last weekend was himself killed during an attempted arrest on Thursday, officials said.
Michael Forest Reinoehl was fatally shot at around 7:30 p.m. (10:30 p.m. ET) in Olympia, Washington, as a federal task force tried to detain him, a U.S. Marshals spokesperson said. The task force included local law enforcement agencies, according to a local sheriff's official.
Reinoehl was a suspect in the killing of Aaron "Jay" Danielson, 39, on Saturday, the marshals service confirmed. The New York Times first reported that Reinoehl, 48, had been killed.
The shooting in Portland occurred after skirmishes between protesters and the pro-Trump caravan in the Oregon city.
The founder of a far-right group called Patriot Prayer has said that Danielson was a supporter of the group and participated in the pro-Trump motorcade.
The marshals service said that Reinoehl was wanted on a charge of murder out of the Multnomah County Circuit Court in Oregon.
"The fugitive task force located Reinoehl in Olympia and attempted to peacefully arrest him. Initial reports indicate the suspect produced a firearm, threatening the lives of law enforcement officers," the marshals service statement says.
"Task force members responded to the threat and struck the suspect who was pronounced dead at the scene," the statement says.
There have been weeks of protests in Portland following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died on May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck in an incident that sparked outrage and demonstrations around the country.
Earlier Thursday, Vice News published part of an interview with a man who said he was Reinoehl in which Reinoehl allegedly said he acted in self-defense.
Reinoehl said that he believed that he and a friend were about to be stabbed, but Vice News acknowledged it had not been able to independently verify details of the account. What was published by Vice News at that time does not clearly say that Danielson was involved in any threat.
Footage from the scene of the shooting showed a man on a skateboard or scooter approaching Danielson before two shots are heard. It is not clear whether Reinoehl acted in self-defense.
In the interview published by Vice News, the man who identified himself as Reinoehl says "I am 100 percent anti-fascist. I am not a member of Antifa. I'm not a member of anything." Antifa is a loosely organized network of groups that use direct action to confront far-right and fascist groups.
Thurston County, Wash., sheriff's Lt. Ray Brady told reporters Thursday night that the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force, which is run by the U.S. Marshals Service but also includes local law enforcement agencies, were conducting surveillance on an apartment complex before the shooting.
The Thurston County Sheriff's Office was not involved, but it is investigating Thursday night's shooting, he said.
Brady said the information he had was that the person who was wanted exited the complex and made his way to a vehicle, and there was a confrontation and the shooting occurred. Brady did not know if the person fired at law enforcement.
