Man allegedly follows mourners after memorial for fatally shot Trump supporter, harasses them at bar, hits one with his truck



After a Saturday memorial in downtown Vancouver, Washington, for Aaron "Jay" Danielson — the police and Patriot Prayer supporter who was fatally shot by an avowed Antifa militant after a recent rally backing President Donald Trump — authorities said a man allegedly followed mourners who had been attending the memorial, the Columbian reported.

The mourners ended up at Charlie's Bar & Grill — and the man who allegedly followed them was in the bar, too, and began recording them with his phone, police told the paper.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

What happened next?

Rex Fergus — a member of the group that went to the bar following Danielson's memorial — told KPTV-TV that the man was causing problems.

"He came into the bar and immediately was aggressive with everyone that was in the bar," Fergus noted to the station. "He was aggressive with the bouncer, he was aggressive with everyone that he came into contact with. He came into the bar, immediately pulled his phone out, and started coming over to our tables and putting his phone in our faces."

Rex FergusImage source: YouTube screenshot

The man left the bar after "contact with security staff," KPTV said, citing police. The mourners also went outside, the station said.

And at about 7 p.m., police said the man who'd been causing trouble got into his vehicle, drove toward and hit a member of the group, then fled from the parking lot, detectives told the Columbian.

The victim's injuries were described as non-life-threatening, officers told KPTV, adding that he was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Who is the suspect?

Charles R. Holliday-Smith, 30, turned himself into police and was booked into jail, police told the station Monday night. He faces charges including assault in the first degree and felony hit-and-run, KPTV added.

While police told the Columbian the suspect allegedly followed the mourners after the memorial service, police added to the paper that investigators couldn't confirm reports circulating that the suspect and victim were part of activist groups confronting each other.

Anything more on the victim?

Police did not identify the man struck by the vehicle, the Columbian said — but a GoFundMe page identified the victim as Shane Moon and noted that he was at a bar after leaving a celebration of life of a friend and was struck by a truck in the parking lot. Fergus in his interview with KPTV also identified the victim as "Shane."

Fergus also told the station that the victim was among several people from the group who were taking pictures of the suspect in the parking lot "in case anything happened."

More from the paper:

The GoFundMe page made no mention of the confrontation or whether Moon was affiliated with any activist group, though several donors left comments describing him as a "patriot" and criticizing Antifa. Posts on social media said that Moon had been at the Saturday evening memorial in downtown Vancouver for Danielson.

An administrator for the page confirmed later via email that Moon had attended the memorial for Danielson. The email said Moon is from the Vancouver area.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the fundraiser garnered just over $12,000 of its $25,000 goal.

The following WPTV report aired before the suspect turned himself in:

Police investigating hit-and-run after confrontation at Vancouver bar youtu.be

What's the background?

Danielson — the focal point of the Vancouver memorial — was fatally shot Aug. 29 after a Portland pro-Trump rally that attracted a ton of pushback from leftists.

While the likes of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden suggested that Danielson was killed because his fellow Trump supporters were "inciting responses," the Multnomah County district attorney's office released unsealed court documents last week that suggest the alleged shooter — Michael Forest Reinoehl — targeted Danielson before shots were fired.

In the below image, Reinoehl can be seen on the right:

Newly released stills of CCTV footage shows Michael Forest Reinoehl lying in wait for Aaron J. Daniels on and his f… https://t.co/i2J7cp39j3
— Mike H. (@Mike H.)1599274400.0

Reinoehl — who had described himself as "100% Antifa" — was fatally shot by law enforcement agents who came to arrest him in Washington state Thursday after several days of investigations.

Oddly, Facebook answered all of this by reportedly taking down Patriot Prayer's group page as well as the page of its founder, Joey Gibson.

Portland Police: Reinhoel Appeared to Target His Victim, Video Suggests

Police in Portland reported that Antifa supporter Michael Forest Reinoehl appeared to target Trump supporter Aaron "Jay" Danielson in last weekend's shooting, lurking in the alcove of a parking garage before emerging to shoot his victim.

Antifa member suspected of killing Aaron Danielson killed during attempted arrest by FBI, US Marshals



Michael Forest Reinoehl, the Antifa member who was suspected of killing a Trump-supporting demonstrator in Portland, was killed by law enforcement agents who came to arrest him in Washington state Thursday, Fox News reported.

A federal fugitive task force comprised of FBI agents, U.S. Marshals, Lakewood Police, Pierce County Sheriff's deputies, and the Washington State Department of Corrections was attempting to arrest Reinoehl on a murder warrant for the Aug. 29 killing of Aaron Danielson, who was a supporter of the conservative group Patriot Prayer.

What happened?

Reinoehl reportedly pulled a weapon when he was confronted by law enforcement, and multiple officers opened fire.

"Initial reports indicate the suspect produced a firearm, threatening the lives of law enforcement officers," a statement by the U.S. Marshals Service said. "Task force members responded to the threat and struck the suspect who was pronounced dead at the scene."

Thurston County Sheriff's Office Lt. Ray Brady told the New York Times that four officers shot at Reinoehl.

How did we get here?

A pro-Trump caravan drove through Portland on Aug. 29, at the same time as Black Lives Matter and Antifa were protesting. The two groups clashed downtown, and Danielson, who was wearing a Patriot Prayer hat and a Blue Lives Matter satchel, was shot in the chest and killed.

Those who were with Danielson at the time believe they were targeted for their conservative beliefs.

"We have a First Amendment in this country," Chandler Pappas told the Common Sense Conservative. "And for whatever reason, there seems to be this opposition that thinks we can't do that. They have been attacking us for years. Really for decades in the grand scheme of things but very heavily in Portland."

Conflicts, sometimes violent, between right- and left-wing groups have been an ongoing issue in Portland for years.

Admitted to the shooting?

A Vice News interview with Reinoehl was published earlier the same day he was killed. Reinoehl told Vice he believed he was being hunted.

Reinoehl also said he believed he killed Danielson in self-defense because he and his friend were about to be attacked.

"You know, 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," Reinoehl told Vice. "I had no choice. I mean, 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."

Reinoehl described himself as "100% Antifa all the way" on social media and expressed a willingness to "fight for my brothers and sisters."

"We do not want violence but we do not run from it either!" he wrote in a June 16 social media post.

Man Linked to Killing at a Portland Protest Says He Acted in Self-Defense youtu.be