Original story below.
“I had no choice,“ Reinoehl said. ”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.”
“Lots of lawyers suggest that I shouldn’t even be saying anything but I feel it’s important that the world at least gets a little bit of what’s really going on, because there’s been a lot of propaganda put out there,” Reinoehl added.
Lt. Greg Pashley, a Portland Police Bureau spokesman, told The Epoch Times via email when asked about the admission: “The Portland Police Bureau will put out new information or updates in a press release when information is available. Those press releases are posted on our website.”
No arrests have been made in the shooting, which left Aaron “Jay” Danielson, a supporter of the conservative Patriot Prayer group, dead.
Police officials previously said that homicide detectives are working on the case and asked anyone with information to come forward.
“They identified our hats, [said] ‘got a couple of them right here, got a couple of them right here. Pull it out. Pull it out,’” the witness, Chandler Pappas, said.
The manner of death was a homicide, according to an autopsy performed on the victim. The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest.
The shooting took place in the area of Southwest 3rd Avenue and Southwest Alder Street around 8:45 p.m.
Reinoehl’s estranged sister reviewed photographs of the shooting scene and told news outlets that she informed police officers that she saw her brother leaving the area immediately after the shots were fired.
“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 added. “But he’s also been very impulsive and irrational.”
Reinoehl, 48, attended a number of protests and riots in Portland in recent months. He called on people in June to “stand aside and support the ones that are willing to fight” before affirming he was “100% ANTIFA.”
The far-left, anarcho-communist group has been linked to violence in multiple states, including California, Wisconsin, and Washington.
Reinoehl describes himself on social media profiles as a professional snowboarder and has said he served in the military.
Reinoehl was taken into custody in June after speeding at 111 mph in Baker City, Oregon, a town about 300 miles southwest of Portland.
An Oregon State Police officer said he and another driver, who was identified as his 17-year-old son, appeared to be racing one another, according to a summary of the incident obtained by The Epoch Times.
Reinoehl had a loaded, concealed Glock pistol in his car despite not having a concealed handgun license. He was arrested on driving under the influence, unlawful possession of a firearm, and endangering the welfare of a minor, among other charges.
Reinoehl’s 11-year-old daughter was in his vehicle. The girl was seen wielding a baseball bat while with Reinoehl at a demonstration in Portland just one day before the shooting.
