A man who was suspected by police of shooting and killing a Trump supporter last week during a violent clash between Portland protesters has died, the U.S. Marshals Service confirmed. According to local Portland news outlet KATU 2, suspect Michael Reinoehl was killed by law enforcement officers on Thursday night (Sept. 3) when they tried to arrest him.
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that it had deputies aiding federal officers, who were tasked with locating Reinoehl. The Portland Police Bureau reportedly issued a warrant for his arrest on Thursday (Sept. 3) and went to his home around 7:30 p.m. According to U.S. Marshals, Reinoehl pulled a gun on officers after getting into a vehicle and four of the officers fired shots at him. It’s unclear whether or not he ever fired his weapon. Reinoehl was pronounced dead at the scene.
“There was a confrontation between the officers that were on scene and the subject,” Lt. Ray Brady from the sheriff’s office said during a press briefing. “The information we have at this time is that the subject was armed. There was shots that were fired into the vehicle and the subject fled from the vehicle at which time there was additional shots that were fired.”
The U.S. Marshals’ Fugitive Apprehension Team had reportedly been surveilling Reinoehl since the deadly shooting during the rally. Speaking with VICE News, Reinoehl previously said that Aaron “Jay” Danielson — the man he allegedly shot — had been trying to stab him and other activists and claimed he had acted in self-defense.
“You know, lots of lawyers suggest that I shouldn’t even be saying anything, but I feel it’s important that the world at least gets a little bit of what’s really going on,” he told the outlet. “I had no choice. I mean, 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.”
Danielson was reportedly part of the Portland-based far-right group called “Patriot Prayer.” Him and other Trump supporters violently clashed with Black Lives Matter protesters on Aug. 29 and he was killed by a gunshot wound to the chest.
According to KATU 2, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office is leading an investigation into the shooting of Reinoehl.