REVEALED: Antifa fugitive was pulling a handgun from his pocket and had an AR-15 in his car when he was shot dead by cops who cornered him five days after he killed Patriot Prayer protester in Portland
Michael Forest Reinoehl, 48, was wanted for murder before police killed him Sept. 3
New details have emerged in the fatal police shooting of an Antifa fugitive who was the only suspect in the murder of a Patriot Prayer supporter after a pro-Trump demonstration in Portland, Oregon.
Michael Reinoehl, 48, was killed in a hail of bullets when police cornered him in Lacey, Washington on September 3, five days after he murdered Aaron 'Jay' Danielson in Portland.
The case briefly shot to national prominence, after President Donald Trump called Reinoehl a 'violent criminal' and said 'there has to be retribution' - but questions have remained about the moments before Reinoehl's death.
Now, investigators say that Reinoehl had his hand on a .380 caliber pistol in his right front pocket when he was shot by U.S. Marshals next to his car, and that an AR-15-style .22-caliber rifle was found in the car, along with a .380-caliber shell casing, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Reinoehl was killed in a hail of bullets when police cornered him in Lacey, Washington on September 3, five days after he murdered Aaron 'Jay' Danielson in Portland
Inside Reinoehl's silver Volkswagon station wagon, investigators found an AR-15-style .22-caliber rifle, along with a .380-caliber shell casing
Investigators move the body of Michael Forest Reinoehl after he was shot and killed by law enforcement on September 3, 2020 in Lacey, Washington
Reinoehl was the only suspect in the murder of Danielson in Portland
Investigators still don't know, and may never know for certain, whether Reinoehl opened fire before he was shot by police.
Thurston County Sheriff's Lt. Ray Brady on Tuesday declined to say how many bullets were remaining in Reinoehl's handgun, according to the Oregonian.
Ballistics tests are still pending to determine whether it was the weapon used to kill Danielson in Portland.
Witness accounts of Reinoehl's death differ, even among the officers who fired on him.
The shots were fired by two Pierce County sheriff's deputies, a Lakewood police officer and a Washington State Department of Corrections employee.
All were cross-deputized by the U.S. Marshals Service and serving on a Tacoma-based fugitive task force, a standard procedure among local-federal partnerships. A U.S. marshal was also part of the team but did not fire.
Medics attend to Aaron 'Jay' Danielson after he was shot on August 29 in downtown Portland. Danielson, who was attending a pro-Trump rally, did not survive
Reinoehl was identified as the prime suspect by matching the distinctive clothing of the shooter to other social media taken on the same day, and by his distinctive neck tattoo of a fist
One deputy U.S. marshal told investigators with the Thurston County sheriff's office that Reinoehl pointed a gun at him, according to the new report.
Another deputy marshal told detectives that Reinoehl had his hand on his pistol and was in the process of pulling the gun out of his pocket when officers fired.
The gun was in Reinoehl's right front pants pocket when his hand was removed from it and he was handcuffed, investigators said.
Civilian witnesses gave differing accounts of what they saw. All described a chaotic scene with bullets flying while children were outside.
One witness, Nathaniel Dinguss, told media outlets that Reinoehl was eating a gummy worm and holding his cell phone when police opened fire on him without warning.
It later emerged that Dinguss lived in the apartment where Reinoehl was hiding out, and that he has so far refused to speak to investigators.
A team led by the Thurston County Sheriff´s Office hasn't finished its investigation yet, Brady said, but he has given weekly updates with new details.
Reinoehl, who declared himself '100% Antifa', is seen during a protest in front of Portland mayor Ted Wheeler's residence the day before Danielson's murder
Brady said four officers from a multi-agency federal task force pulled up in two unmarked SUVS in front of Reinoehl´s Volkswagen.
The officers who fired told investigators they gave Reinoehl 'commands to stop and show his hands' before they shot him, Brady said.
An autopsy found Reinoehl died from gunshot wounds to the head and upper torso.
Earlier on the day he died, Portland police had obtained a warrant to arrest Reinoehl on second-degree murder and unlawful use of a firearm allegations in the Portland killing.
Reinoehl, who declared himself '100% Antifa', was wanted in the death of Danielson, a supporter of the right-wing conservative group Patriot Prayer based in Vancouver, Washington.
Surveillance images and bystander video revealed the moments leading up to the shooting, showing Reinoehl lying in wait in a parking garage entrance before following Danielson into the street and opening fire.
New surveillance images show Reinoehl walking in front of Aaron 'Jay' Danielson (behind him left in black shirt) moments before Danielson was shot dead in Portland
Reinoehl ducks into a parking garage and waits for Danielson (far left) and his friend Chandler Pappas (next to him in white shirt) to walk past on the sidewalk
After Danielson and Pappas (not pictured) pass, Reinoehl reaches for his waistband and joins up with 'Subject #2' (center in black) to follow the two right-wing activists
In an interview aired on VICE the day he died, Reinoehl said he had acted to protect 'a friend of mine of color' who Reinoehl claimed would have been killed had he not fired.
According to investigators, the purported friend denied knowing Reinoehl, and said he did not witness the shooting and had no idea it would happen, OPB reported.
The purported friend is believed to be the man seen in surveillance footage of the shooting, identified in Reinoehl's arrest warrant as 'Subject #2'.
Prosecutors in Portland declined to indict him for aiding or abetting the killing of Danielson, according to court records reported by OPB.
Reinoehl's son, Deaven Reinoehl, told the broadcaster that his father went on the run following Danielson's murder, intending to evade authorities.
'He didn't plan on turning himself in at all,' the son said. 'He was just planning on trying to be on the run. ... He didn't know where he was going. He had people helping him find these safe houses or whatever.'
Deaven claimed that about five hours after Danielson's murder, trucks drove past his family's home, and gunshots were fired at the house in an apparent retaliation.
Reporters who interviewed the teen at his doorstep saw what appeared to be bullet holes in the siding above his head, but his story could not be independently verified.
A participant in a pro-Trump caravan rally poses with a flag in memory of Aaron Jay Danielson, on September 7, 2020 in Salem, Oregon
Trump addressed the police shooting of Reinoehl in a Fox News interview, saying that the Antifa supporter had targeted Danielson for his right-wing views.
'It wasn't a Trump hat. It was a religious hat. And he shot him cold blood. Two-and-a-half days went by and I put out when are you going to go get him? The U.S. Marshals went in to get him and they ended in a gunfight,' Trump said.
'This guy was a violent criminal and the U.S. Marshals killed him. That's the way it has to be. There has to be retribution when you have crime like this. There can't be guys standing up that wanna fight. You can't throw bricks at people with shields.'
Chandler Pappas, a fellow Patriot Prayer supporter who was standing right next to Danielson when he was killed, said that Reinoehl's death was not the outcome he had hoped for.
'We wanted to see him face a jury, we wanted to see him suffer in prison,' Pappas told OPB. 'I wanted to see him answer for what he had done in a courtroom.'