This past Saturday, pro-Trump supporters led a massive peaceful caravan through downtown Portland. However, the night would end in violence when Aaron "Jay" Danielson was killed when altercations broke out between rioters and supporters of the pro-Trump campaign.
Danielson was a supporter of the Patriot Prayer organization which held many pro-Trump events in Portland, as well as a small business owner in the city. Founder of Patriot Prayer Joey Gibson had this to say about Danielson and his death: "You need to understand that. Jay is a resident. He lives in downtown Portland. He owns a business in Portland. This is why he kept on the down-low [used a pseudonym] because he owned a business in the city of Portland. [The perpetrators] walked up to them and they identified them as two Trumpers, I believe, or two conservatives, or whatever they thought. They intentionally executed him and they tried to execute Chandler."
A video posted online shows Danielson being shot and falling to the ground as two men walked away from the scene. Although no one has been charged for Danielson's death, police believe that Michael Forest Reinoehl could be a potential suspect. Eyewitness reports claim to have seen him leaving the scene of the crime, and one of Reinoehl's own Instagram posts reveal him stating "We do not want violence but we will not run from it either!" Reinoehl had also been charged with illegal firearm possession back in June, and a a warrant for his arrest was issued when he failed to appear for his July 8th arraignment.
Another video posted online showed that rioters were unsympathetic about Danielson's death. In the video, a woman holding a microphone speaking to a crowd stated, "We can take out the trash on our own. I am not sad that a f-ing fascist died tonight."
Although not everything is known about Danielson's death, it is clear that tensions surrounding the current political and social situation of the US are rising. Danielson is not the only recent death during riots, as this news comes only days after the killing of two rioters in Kenosha, Wisconsin by Kyle Rittenhouse.
