A 48-year-old who has expressed support for antifa and had charges dropped for carrying a loaded weapon during earlier unrest in Portland this summer is being investigated for involvement in the fatal shooting of a supporter of President Donald Trump, the Portland Oregonian reported.
Michael Forest Reinoehl has been identified by a family member from video and photos captured at the scene of Saturday night’s shooting of Aaron Danielson, a supporter of the conservative group Patriot Prayer who died in the street, the Oregonian said quoting unidentified sources familiar with the investigation.
Danielson was shot and killed following a vehicle caravan of Trump supporters through downtown Portland.
The report did not say if Reinoehl was being sought for questioning.
Reinoehl, however, was identified in video from the shooting, which show a tall, thin white man in a hat and white socks running from the scene. Screenshots captured a tattoo of a fist on the man’s neck.
His 36-year-old sister, whom the Oregonian did not identify by name, said she received a threatening phone call at 8 a.m. the next morning telling her “our whole family was in danger unless we turned him over.”
She reported the threat to police, looked online to view the screenshots, recognized her brother – who she said has been estranged from the family for at least three years — and called Portland detectives.
“We reached out to police and confirmed that we recognized Michael in the screenshots,” she said.
“On the one hand, this whole thing surprises the daylights out of us, because we always thought he is a lot of bark, not a lot of bite,” she said. “But he’s also been very impulsive and irrational.”
Reinoehl, in June, posted an antifa-supportive screed to his Instagram account.
“Every Revolution needs people that are willing and ready to fight,” he wrote. “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 that 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. I am 100 % ANTIFA all the way! I am willing to fight for my brothers and sisters!”
On July 5, Reinoel was cited at 10 a.m. during one of the demonstrations for possession of a loaded firearm in public, resisting arrest and interfering with police.
He was given a court appearance date, but the charges were dropped on July 30 with a “no complaint,” the Oregonian said court records show. No indication was given in the court documents why the charges were not pursued and Reinoehl was never incarcerated.
Multnomah County District Attorney’s office spokesman Brent Weisberg said the office was reviewing that case.
District Attorney Mike Schmidt took office on Aug. 1 and declared that he would not pursue some charges against demonstrators, such as interfering with police or resisting arrest.
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