The left-wing agitator who allegedly shot a Trump supporter in Portland over the weekend, is a proud member of antifa who has been arrested and set free twice in recent months for charges that included the illegal possession of a handgun.
“I am 100% ANTIFA all the way! I am willing to fight for my brothers and sisters!” the alleged shooter, Michael Forest Reinoehl, posted on social media back in June.
The #antifa investigated for shooting the Portland Trump supporter is Michael Reinoehl. Last month he was arrested at another antifa riot for illegally carrying a loaded gun. He was let go. He then went on to allegedly kill Aaron Danielson.
My latest:https://t.co/r6rFxqjZ4P
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) August 31, 2020
According to the Post Millennial’s Andy Ngo, Reinoehl was arrested during the early morning hours of July 5 outside the Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse in Portland and was cited for “possessing a loaded gun in a public place, resisting arrest, and interfering with police,” but was promptly let go by Portland authorities.
He was photographed at the time fighting cops while on the ground. A gun laid on the ground next to him. He was cited, released and spent no time in the county jail. Like for the majority of those arrested at riots, local prosecutors did not pursue the charges.
The charges were dropped on July 30 with a “no complaint,” according to court records.
Reinoehl also reportedly has a warrant for his arrest on multiple charges stemming from an unrelated incident in Eastern Oregon on June 8 in which he was stopped for driving while in possession of drugs. He was charged with driving under the influence, recklessly endangering another, and driving while suspended and uninsured.
Police in Baker County also found him in possession of a loaded Glock pistol, for which he didn’t have a concealed handgun license during that incident, according to the New York Post.
It’s unclear why prosecutors would have let Reinoehl walk in July if he’d had a warrant out for his arrest stemming from the June incident, but the decision to allow the dangerous criminal to walk free allowed him to allegedly fatally shoot pro-Trump, pro-police conservative Aaron “Jay” Danielson Saturday night in downtown Portland.
Reinoehl, 48, is reportedly being investigated by Portland police for the homicide, although he has not been formally named or charged fro that crime.
Danielson had earlier participated in a pro-Trump caravan that had driven through the city and clashed with violent rioters.
Danielson, the homicide victim, was shot in the chest in downtown Portland just before 9 p.m. by a man believed to be Reinoehl, who fled the scene on foot. Video recorded of the shooting shows Danielson lying motionless on the ground immediately after two shots are fired. He wore a blue pro-police patch on his shorts at the time of his death. He was a participant in the “Trump 2020” car caravan that drove in and around Portland and was an associate of Portland-area conservative group, Patriot Prayer.
Antifa rioters hurled rocks, eggs and other projectiles and caravan drivers. The pro-Trump drivers and passengers retaliated by shooting them with paintballs and spraying agitators blocking road with pepper spray.
Reinoehl, who has a “black power” fist tattooed on his neck, has “an extensive social media history that shows he identifies as Antifa and has been at many of the riots in Portland,” the Post Millennial reported.
On Instagram, Reinoehl posted in June: “Every revolution needs people that are willing and ready to fight. There are 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 and 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! Even if some of them are too ignorant to realize what antifa truly stands for.”
He continued: “We are currently living through a crucial point in Humanities evolution. 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.”
Reinoehl seemed to be disgruntled, anti-American misfit while serving in the Army, a post regarding his military experience suggests. He proudly shared with followers his preference for fighting fellow Americans over foreign enemy combatants.
“I was in the army and hated it. I did not feel like fighting for them would ever be a good cause. Today’s protesters and antifa are my brothers in arms. This is a Cause to fight for This truly is fighting for my country!” the antifa radical wrote.
“Wow — Portland PD and Antifa-loving District Attorney let this psycho loose only last month after he brought a gun to a riot?” First Amendment lawyer Harmeet K. Dhillon tweeted on Monday. “@tedwheeler— this death is on your hands. You are the police commissioner and YOU let this happen.”