A safety volunteer accused of fatally shooting a man taking part in a "No Kings" protest last June in Salt Lake City while firing at another man he believed to be a potential mass shooter has been charged with manslaughter, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Matthew Alder allegedly fired three shots — one hitting a man who had been seen assembling an AR-15 rifle near the crowd and a third inadvertently killing the rally participant, Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, according to Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill.
While Alder had a right to use lethal force to stop a perceived threat and a right to carry a gun under Utah law, his third shot, fired over people's heads at a large gathering, was reckless and constituted a crime, Gill said.
“In this case our argument is that the third bullet was reckless and, if it is reckless, it is manslaughter,” Gill said at a news conference. He noted that another safety volunteer with Alder did not think it was safe to open fire at the time because the man with the rifle was moving toward the crowd.
An email and a telephone message left for Alder’s lawyer, Phil Wormdahl, seeking comment were not immediately returned.
Ah Loo, known as Afa, was a successful fashion designer and former “Project Runway” contestant who devoted his life to celebrating artists from the Pacific Islands.
His widow, Laura Ah Loo, who has demanded accountability for her husband's death, said Gill's decision to charge Alder was "moral and just." Fighting back tears, she described her husband as "an incredible father, advocate, creative and champion for others."
“The grief of losing him has been profound and overwhelming,” Ah Loo said.
Utah is an open-carry state, meaning people who can legally own a firearm are generally allowed to carry it on a public street.
The man who was seen assembling the rifle, Arturo Roberto Gamboa, was initially arrested on suspicion of murder and accused of creating the dangerous situation that led to Ah Loo’s death, police said at the time.
Gill said Gamboa would not be charged. In a letter explaining the decision, prosecutors noted there was not enough evidence to show Gamboa had broken any law even though his actions could “reasonably be perceived as alarming and irresponsible.”
A telephone message left for Gamboa's lawyer was not immediately returned.
The lawyer, Greg Skordas, has previously said Gamboa was walking with the rifle unloaded pointed at the ground before he was shot. Skordas has said he does not believe that Gamboa heard anyone tell him to drop the weapon.
Alder told investigators that he fired at Gamboa after Gamboa began moving toward the crowd and did not respond when he yelled at the man to stop, according to Alder's charging document. He told detectives that Gamboa's behavior “scared the hell out of me,” the document said.
The "No Kings" protests were nationwide demonstrations in the U.S. earlier this year that opposed the administration of President Donald Trump, citing perceived authoritarian and anti-democratic actions.
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