An attorney for Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson said Friday that social media accounts for Gibson’s right-wing group have been deleted.
Patriot Prayer’s Facebook and Instagram accounts have been taken down, according to Angus Lee. If searched on either of the platforms, the pages are no longer viewable. Gibson’s personal Facebook page appears to have been removed as well. Gibson, who lives in Clark County, is the founder of Patriot Prayer.
A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to Oregon Public Broadcasting that the social network removed Gibson’s profile. The company said the removal fell in line with its “Dangerous Individuals and Organizations” policy that was recently expanded.
The Southern Poverty Law Center calls Patriot Prayer a far-right group active in the Pacific Northwest that has hosted and promoted rallies in progressive cities such as Portland, frequently engaging in violence against their political opponents.
Gibson and his supporters have described it as a Christian organization. Though white supremacists have attended Patriot Prayer events, Gibson has defended himself and his movement against claims that he’s aligned with white supremacists.
Lee said he is considering taking legal action because of the removals.
“This is a very serious demonstration of the seemingly unchecked power of electronic oligarchs to control information in the most important election of our lives,” Lee said.
Gibson, who is vocal online about politicized goings-on in Clark County and Portland, has been most recently frequently posting about the ongoing protests in Oregon’s largest city.
A Columbian reporter reached out to Gibson for comment but he has not responded. According to KATU, he released a statement: “Antifa groups murdered my friend while he was walking home, and instead of the multibillion dollar company banning Portland antifa pages they ban Patriot Prayer and myself (Joey Gibson).”
Aaron ‘Jay’ Danielson
A caravan of Trump supporters, estimated at about 600 vehicles, encountered Black Lives Matter protesters Saturday as they drove through downtown Portland, and skirmishes broke out. Aaron “Jay” Danielson, 39, a supporter of Patriot Prayer and who was reportedly protecting the caravan, was fatally shot.
Since Danielson’s death, Gibson has called the killing an execution. On a daily basis, he was sharing posts on social media stating, “X days still no arrests,” some of which are still viewable on Twitter. The Twitter account for Patriot Prayer remains online.
On Thursday night, the man believed to have fatally shot Danielson was killed when he pulled a gun as a federal task force attempted to apprehend him near Lacey, the U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement. The man, Michael Forest Reinoehl, 48, had described himself in a social media post as “100% ANTIFA,” and suggested the tactics of counter-protesters amounted to “warfare.” He had been shot at one protest and cited for having a gun at another, according to the Associated Press.
Reinoehl’s death prompted an immediate online response from Gibson. In a Facebook post he wrote that a dozen people were involved in Danielson’s “assassination,” adding “Where (are) the other 11 terrorists? Do not rest until all of them are brought to justice.”
