Man Linked to Portland Shooting Was Previously Arrested With Gun

Michael Reinoehl, left, in a selfie photograph, showcasing what he said was a wound from being hit with a beanbag fired by police officers, in Portland, Ore., on July 3, 2020. On right, a man later identified as Reinoehl in court records is arrested in Portland, Ore., early July 5, 2020. (michael_reinoehl/Instagram; Portland Police Bureau)

An Antifa member whose sister says she recognized him from photographs of the deadly shooting scene in Portland on Aug. 29 was previously arrested for possessing a loaded gun, court records show.

Michael Forest Reinoehl, 48, is reportedly being probed for potential involvement in the shooting over the weekend that left Aaron Danielson dead.

Reinoehl was arrested in the early hours of July 5 for interfering with an officer, resisting arrest, and possession of a loaded firearm, according to court records reviewed by The Epoch Times. All three are misdemeanors.

Photographs released by the Portland Police Bureau showed a man who appears to be Reinoehl on the ground, with a gun nearby, being arrested by multiple officers.

Thirteen people were arrested during riots that night, police said, but the list of those taken into custody didn’t include Reinoehl’s name.

A gun and knife possessed by Michael Reinoehl in Portland, Ore., during rioting on July 5, 2020. (Portland Police Bureau)

A bureau spokesman told The Epoch Times via email that he hasn’t been able to find information in police records regarding the arrest of Reinoehl.

A spokesman for the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, which prosecutes cases in Portland, confirmed to The Epoch Times that Reinoehl was cited on July 5 but not booked into jail.

The citation was filed on July 27 and a court date was scheduled for July 30. According to court records, no complaint was filed on July 30.

Brent Weisberg, the district attorney’s spokesman, said via email that the office has followed protocols from the county’s presiding judge. Earlier this year, Presiding Judge Stephen Bushong said (pdf) out-of-custody misdemeanor hearings may be held remotely, citing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Such hearings “were not occurring” in July and “are still not occurring, per the court’s order,” the spokesman said. “The majority of cases we received as a citation in lieu of booking, including this case, remain pending review. We have neither rejected nor declined prosecution on this case. This incident from July 5, 2020, remains an ongoing investigation.”

In a separate message, Weisberg said prosecutors didn’t have all the available police reports when the court date came up.

The bureau spokesman didn’t respond to a followup inquiry.

A man is treated after being shot in Portland, Ore., on Aug. 29, 2020. He died from his wounds. (Paula Bronstein/AP Photo)

Reinoehl attended a number of protests in June and July, according to his social media accounts, which remain active. He stopped posting on them nearly two months ago.

In posts on Instagram, Reinoehl identified himself as a member of Antifa, a far-left, anarcho-communist group, and said he supports the Black Lives Matter movement. He said Antifa members won’t run from violence. Clashes in Portland would become “a war and like all war there will be casualties,” he wrote.

Photographs published by The Oregonian show Reinoehl participating in a demonstration in downtown Portland outside Mayor Ted Wheeler’s apartment on Aug. 28, the night before the fatal shooting.

Reinoehl was wearing a white short-sleeved T-shirt and jeans, sporting a baseball cap, and carrying a backpack. He wasn’t wearing a mask. No gun was visible.

With Reinoehl was a girl identified as his 11-year-old daughter. She was wearing a shirt that said “streetwise” and carrying a baseball bat.

In contrast to most demonstrations in Portland in recent months, no violence occurred.