Both of the nation's largest Spanish-speaking news networks took different paths in covering the shooting of Michael Forest Reinoehl, an Antifa soldier who confessed to killing a Trump supporter during the Portland Riots last Saturday. One network surprised us, the other did not.
At Univision´s Despierta America, anchor Satcha Pretto opened the report by establishing pro-Trump supporters as “far-right activists”, against whom Reinoehl acted in “self-defense”. The Antifa angle was completely omitted until just this morning, and even then buried the reference to the terrorist organization, falsely describing them at the end of the piece as “a left-wing group that is in constant war with white supremacists”. This would lead Univision viewers to believe that Antifa are anti-racists, when in fact they are anarchists.
Compare that with how Telemundo's Un Nuevo Día handled Reinoehl´s shooting. Anchor Nicole Suárez established the Antifa angle right from the start. Unfortunately, Telemundo also went soft on the ultra-violent group, by referring to them as “leftist-leaning”. To Telemundo’s credit, that’s still significantly more than Univision did with the same information. Take a look:
SATCHA PRETTO: I want to tell you that last night federal agents killed Michael Forest Reinoehl. This is the suspect who fatally shot a far-right activist in Portland, Oregon, claiming he acted in self-defense.
...
EDWIN PITTI: That's right. Last night the police back in Portland, with the help of sheriffs, had to cross the state line to Washington state, specifically the city of Lacey, with an arrest warrant against Michael Forest Reinoehl, a 48-year-old man. This, after he allegedly agreed in an interview with Live News, to have been the person who fired against Aaron Danielson last Saturday, a man who supported a pro Trump group in this clash at the Portland demonstrations against alleged police abuse. Reinoehl said that he identifies with Antifa 100 percent, a left-wing group that is in constant war with white supremacists.
[…]
NICOLE SUAREZ: The suspect of killing a Trump follower during the riots against racism and police brutality in Portland, was shot down during his arrest. The activist was linked to the leftist leaning group Antifa.
...
New moment of tension in the Portland protests. The suspect of killing a President Trump supporter in the weekend riots, was shot dead in Washington state. A joint force of federal and local agents found him in the city of Olympia, as confirmed by the marshals service. According to the official recount, Michael Forest Reinoehl, 48, died when authorities tried to arrest him, and after he shot the agents. Reinoehl was considered a supporter of the Antifa, a leftist movement that Trump has on several occasions called radical.
Both reports had one thing in common: patting a cold-blooded assassin on the shoulder over prime time news. After all, he supported “a leftist movement that Trump has on several occasions called radical." In other words, all of the destruction, deaths, vandalism, hatred spewed by Antifa are only the rantings of a delusional President Trump.
Chevrolet was a cosponsor of Univision’s atrocious coverage of the dead Antifa shooter. Express your concern to Chevrolet here, and click here to read Media Research Center Founder and President L. Brent Bozell III’s letter to the FCC, in strong opposition to the proposed rule change that would allow Univision to be 100% foreign-owned.
Press on Expand to view the complete transcripts of the segments mentioned above as they aired over Univision´s Despierta America, and Telemundo´s Un Nuevo Día on Friday, September 4, 2020:
SATCHA PRETTO: I want to tell you that last night federal agents killed Michael Forest Reinoehl. This is the suspect who fatally shot a far-right activist in Portland, Oregon, claiming he acted in self-defense. In Kenosha, police arrest two supporters of Blue Lives Matter, armed to the teeth. Meanwhile, in New York seven agents involved in the death of African-American Daniel Prude were suspended, as Edwin Pitti tells us this morning live from Washington, D.C. Edwin, good morning.
EDWIN PITTI: Good morning Satcha, that's right. Last night the police back in Portland, with the help of sheriffs, had to cross the state line to Washington state, specifically the city of Lacey, with an arrest warrant against Michael Forest Reinoehl, a 48-year-old man. This, after he allegedly agreed in an interview with Live News, to have been the person who fired against Aaron Danielson last Saturday, a man who supported a pro Trump group in this clash at the Portland demonstrations against alleged police abuse. Reinoehl said that he identifies with antifa 100 percent, a left-wing group that is in constant war with white supremacists. So, the police continue to investigate this because when they approached his home, according to preliminary reports, Satcha, they were saying that Reinoehl would have pulled out a gun and that's when this man was shot down, so the investigation will continue.
…
NICOLE SUÁREZ: The suspect of killing a Trump follower during the riots against racism and police brutality in Portland, was shot down during his arrest. The activist was linked to the leftist leaning group Antifa.
NICOLE SUAREZ: New moment of tension in the Portland protests. The suspect of killing a President Trump supporter in the weekend riots, was shot dead in Washington state. A joint force of federal and local agents found him in the city of Olympia, as confirmed by the marshals service. According to the official recount, Michael Forest Reinoehl, 48, died when authorities tried to arrest him, and after he shot the agents. Reinoehl was considered a supporter of the antifa, a leftist movement that Trump has rated several times as radical. And, after The New York Times reported on his death, Trump tweeted about the case, but he didn't seem to have heard yet about the news. In his tweet, he asked why the Portland police had not arrested Aaron J. Danielson´s cold-blooded killer, stating that his identity was known. The president closed his tweet with the phrase ´no wonder Portland's going to hell."
