The man suspected of fatally shooting a supporter of a right-wing group in Portland, Oregon, has been shot dead during an operation to detain him, according to local law enforcement officials.
Michael Reinoehl, 48, brandished a gun and was killed as a federal task force attempted to apprehend him in Lacey, Washington State, an official said.
Lt Ray Brady, of Thurston county sheriff’s department, said the Pierce county fugitive apprehension team, working with US marshals, was in the area looking for a wanted homicide suspect when they saw him come out of an apartment. They said he appeared to be armed.
“The suspect came out to the car,” said the Pierce county sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer, according to the Olympian news website. “They attempted to put him into custody and shots were fired.”
Mr Reinoehl was the prime suspect in the killing of Aaron Jay Danielson, who was shot in the chest on Saturday night in Portland.
Authorities in the city said Mr Danielson, 39, was fatally shot during clashes over the weekend between supporters of US President Donald Trump and Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters.
It was not clear if the shooting was linked to fights that broke out as a caravan of about 600 vehicles was confronted by demonstrators in the city centre.
A warrant was issued for Mr Reinoehl's arrest following the incident.
In an interview in Vice published on Thursday morning, Mr Reinoehl said he acted in self-defence when far-right marchers diverted from their agreed route and descended on the downtown area where BLM supporters were gathered on Saturday.
“I had no choice. I mean, I, I had a choice. I could have sat there and watched them kill a friend of mine of color. But I wasn’t going to do that.”
Mr Reinoehl had described himself in a social media post as “100% ANTIFA”, suggested the tactics of counter-protesters amounted to “warfare", 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.
Mr Trump, who highlighted Danielson’s death in tweets earlier in the week and defended his supporters’ use of paintballs against BLM protesters, posted on Twitter moments before the story of Mr Reinoehl's death broke: “Why aren’t the Portland Police ARRESTING the cold blooded killer of Aaron ‘Jay’ Danielson.”
