LACEY, Wash. 鈥� A man suspected of fatally shooting a supporter of a right-wing group in Portland, Oregon, last week after a caravan of Donald Trump backers rode through downtown was killed Thursday as investigators moved in to arrest him, a senior Justice Department official told The Associated Press.
The man, Michael Reinoehl, 48, was killed as a federal task force attempted to apprehend him in Lacey, Washington, the official said. Reinoehl was the prime suspect in the killing of 39-year-old Aaron 鈥淛ay鈥� Danielson, who was shot in the chest Saturday night, the official said.
Federal agents from the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service had located Reinoehl on Thursday after a warrant was issued for his arrest. During the encounter, Reinoehl was shot by a law enforcement officer who was working on the federal task force, the official said.
The official said Reinoehl had pulled a gun during the encounter and was shot by law enforcement. The official could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
The U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task forces, comprised of deputy marshals, other federal agents and local law enforcement officers from a variety of agencies, are responsible for apprehending violent felons and other wanted suspects.
Lt. Ray Brady, with the Thurston County sheriff鈥檚 office, declined to identify the person shot but said he was armed and had left his apartment complex just before the shooting while authorities were conducting surveillance. He said he didn鈥檛 know if the man had fired on law enforcement.
Four members of the fugitive task force fired their weapons, Brady said, and it appears U.S. Marshal鈥檚 Service agents did not fire. No law enforcement members were injured, he said.
Reinoehl had described himself in a social media post as 鈥�100% ANTIFA,鈥� suggested the tactics of counter-protesters amounted to 鈥渨arfare,鈥� and had been shot at one protest and cited for having a gun at another.
He had been been a regular presence at anti-racism demonstrations in Portland.
Police on July 5 cited Reinoehl on allegations of possessing a loaded gun in a public place, resisting arrest and interfering with police.
On July 26, Reinoehl was shot near his elbow after he got involved in a scuffle between an armed white man and a group of young people of colour. The man who was carrying the gun, Aaron Scott Collins, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that he and a friend had just left a bar when they saw the group harassing an older Black man. His friend began filming them with a phone, and the group confronted them, calling them Nazis, he said.
Reinoehl later that day spoke to an AP videographer. His arm was wrapped in a bloody bandage; he said he was on his way to meet protest medics so they could change it.
He said he didn鈥檛 know what had started the altercation between Collins and the group, but that several people had decided to intervene when they saw Collins fighting with minors.
鈥淎s soon as the adults jumped in, he pulled out a gun,鈥� Reinoehl said. 鈥淚 jumped in there and pulled the gun away from people鈥檚 heads, avoided being shot in the stomach and I got shot in the arm.鈥�
Reinoehl also was wanted on a warrant out of Baker County in Eastern Oregon, where court records show he skipped a hearing related to a June case in which he has been charged with driving under the influence of controlled substances, reckless driving, reckless endangerment and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Police said he drove on an interstate at up to 111 mph, with his daughter in the car, while racing his 17-year-old son, who was in a different vehicle.
Protests have erupted daily in the Pacific Northwest city since the killing of George Floyd.
With unruly demonstrations in Portland nearing the 100-day mark, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and other Democratic leaders on Thursday called for an end to violence even as federal agents were continuing to arrest protesters who allegedly assaulted law enforcement officers.
鈥淭he violence must stop,鈥� Brown wrote. 鈥淭here is no place for white supremacy or vigilantism in Oregon. All who perpetrate violent crimes must be held equally accountable.鈥�
The statement does not single out the small minority of left-wing protesters who have been setting fires, vandalizing buildings and throwing objects at police. But Brown鈥檚 spokesman, Charles Boyle, said it 鈥渋s a collective call to action for an end to violence in Portland and affirms that those who commit violent acts must be held accountable.鈥�
Brown鈥檚 condemnation of violence was also signed by almost two-dozen state and local politicians, a host of organizations including the local NAACP chapter, and the city鈥檚 professional sports teams: the Trailblazers NBA team, the Timbers soccer team and the Thorns women鈥檚 soccer squad.
Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell has denounced protesters who broke windows and set a fire this week to a business in the upscale apartment building where Mayor Ted Wheeler lives. Protesters are angry that Wheeler has not stopped officers from using batons and tear gas against Black Lives Matter protesters. Wheeler now reportedly plans to move out of the building.
As of a week ago, 74 people were facing federal charges for crimes allegedly committed during demonstrations in Portland since at least May 29, U.S. Attorney Billy Williams said.
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Associated Press writers Gene Johnson in Seattle, Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Oregon, Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, and Andrew Selsky in Salem, Oregon, contributed to this report.