By Maxine Bernstein
oregonlive.com
A 48-year-old man who was accused of carrying a loaded gun at an earlier downtown Portland protest is under investigation in the fatal shooting Saturday night of a right-wing demonstrator after a pro-Trump rally.
Michael Forest Reinoehl calls himself an anti-fascist and has posted videos and photos of demonstrations he attended since late June, accompanied by the hashtags #blacklivesmatter, #anewnation and #breonnataylor.
Reinoehl was raised in Sandy and has had recent addresses in Northeast Portland, Gresham and Clackamas. He described himself on social media and in a video interview with Bloomberg QuickTake News as a professional snowboarder and contractor who has former military experience but “hated” his time in the army.
Sources familiar with the case but not authorized to speak said police are investigating Reinoehl. A family member also identified him as a man captured in photos and video seen leaving the shooting scene shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday.
Aaron Danielson, a supporter of the conservative group Patriot Prayer, was shot in the chest and died in the street. It was soon after most cars in a caravan of supporters of President Donald Trump had left the city’s downtown streets.
Reinoehl’s posts indicate he attended many protests in Portland that began three months ago after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis under the knee of a police officer.
On July 5 at one of the demonstrations, Reinoehl was cited at 2:10 a.m. in the 700 block of Southwest Main Street on allegations of possessing a loaded gun in a public place, resisting arrest and interfering with police
He was given a date to appear in court later that month, but the allegations were dropped on July 30 with a “no complaint,” according to court records. The documents don’t indicate why prosecutors decided not to pursue the accusations. Reinoehl spent no time behind bars.
Brent Weisberg, a spokesman for Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, said the office is still reviewing that July case involving Reinoehl.
Video images of the fatal shooting captured a tall, thin man in a hat and white tube socks running from the scene at Southwest Third Avenue and Alder Street around 8:45 p.m. Screenshots zeroed in a tattoo of a fist on the man’s neck.
The grainy video and other photos, together with witness statements from live streamer Justin Dunlap, suggest the victim used some type of mace or pepper spray and then collapsed after gunshots ring out.
Reinoehl’s 36-year-old sister said she was awakened just before 8 a.m. Sunday by a threatening phone call from someone who told her that “our whole family was in danger unless we turned him over.”
“That’s how I found out,” she told The Oregonian/OregonLive, that her brother was allegedly involved.
She called Sandy police to report the threat, she said. Once she looked online and saw screenshots of her brother’s photo, she said she called Portland detectives.
Michael Reinoehl has been estranged from the family – including her, their parents and a younger brother – for at least three years, his sister 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 has stolen their mother’s seizure medication and owes a lot of debt, often giving his relatives’ addresses as his own to avoid responsibility, she said.
He has a son and daughter and is split from their mother, she said.
“I have friends, family and loved ones on both sides of the conflict,” Reinoehl’s sister said. “Violence begets violence and hatred begets hatred. This is not the solution. My heart goes out to the victim. It always has, before I even knew my brother was involved.”
On June 16, Reinoehl wrote, “Every Revolution needs people that are willing and ready to fight. 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! … We do not want violence but we will not run from it either! … Today’s protesters and antifa are my brothers in arms.”
On July 2, Reinoehl wrote on Instagram, “We will not stop until there is change. Now more than ever we need to join together. Join the cause support the people that are willing to take a rubber bullet. Give them supplies food water Medical anything that can help. Bring balloons and paint for paint balloons. #blaklivesmatter #breonnataylor.”
In one post, he shared a video of people burning a “Trump 2020” flag outside the Multnomah County Justice Center steps earlier this summer. A post from November 2015 shows a Trump face painted on the wall of a restroom with a urinal in place of the mouth. Another post shows a poster of Malala Yousafzai with the quote: “With guns you can kill terrorists. With education, you can kill terrorism.”
Other posts display pictures of his family, friends and his dog and describe him seeking work cleaning gutters to make extra money. In a 2018 post, he says he works for a company that remodels houses. His Facebook page says he studied television production at Mt. Hood Community College.
On Sunday, much of his social media filled up with others commenting, posting pointed messages such as “Turn yourself in” to “You better pray to God that the law gets to you first…Because The Patriots are Storming!!”
Nathan Howard/Getty Images/TNS Federal officers disperse a crowd of anti-police protesters after the group chased right-wing groups out of downtown and then continued protesting in Terry Schrunk Plaza on Saturday, August 22, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. For the second Saturday in a row, right-wing groups gathered in downtown Portland, sparking counter protests and violence.
