Donald Trump, who claims to be the president of law and order, bragged to crowd of supporters on Thursday about executing a man without trial.
During a rally in Greenville, North Carolina, on Thursday afternoon, Trump praised a US Marshall for killing a murder suspect in Oregon last month.
Trump appeared to be excited about the death of Michael Reinoehl, an antifa activist who had been suspected of shooting a Trump supporter in Portland in late August and was confronted by US Marshalls a few weeks later.
What exactly happened in that confrontation is still unclear. The New York Times reported last month that “[i]n interviews with 22 people who were near the scene, all but one said they did not hear officers identify themselves or give any commands before opening fire” and killing Reinoehl.
Nonetheless, Trump decided to brag about ordering the US Marshalls to kill Reinoehl.
“I said, ‘What happened?’ ‘Well we haven’t arrested him,’” Trump said, recalling his conversations with local authorities.
“Two days, three days went by, we sent in the US Marshalls, took 15 minutes it was over. Fifteen minutes it was over, we got him,” Trump continued. “They knew who he was, they didn’t want to arrest him, and 15 minutes that ended.”
As Mother Jones noted: “There’s not really any way to spin it: Trump is describing the killing of a suspect like it was a mob hit that he ordered. He thinks it’s great what happened.”
You can see Trump’s remarks below:
Trump: We sent in the US Marshals, took 15 minutes and it was over… They knew who he was, they didn’t want to arrest him and 15 minutes that ended pic.twitter.com/fJA5BsJVeF
— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) October 15, 2020
