Security at Utah No Kings Protest Shoot and Kill Protester

An innocent protester was gunned down at Utah's "No Kings" protest by security who supposedly were aiming at an unrelated armed suspect. Incompetence? How could police shoot an unarmed bystander while aiming at an armed suspect?

The victim, identified as Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, was shot during the Saturday protest, which attracted around 30,000 people, and died later that night, Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd said.

"Our victim was not the intended target," said Redd, admitting the police's responsibility for their incompetent performance. Ah Loo, 39, was an anti-Trump protester in the march. Redd said Ah Loo was mistakenly shot by one event security personnel who opened fire at a suspect, identified as Arturo Gamboa, 24, who allegedly ran toward the crowd with a rifle.

One of the security men fired three times, striking both Gamboa and the protester who later died. Gamboa was wounded and a rifle and a gas mask, in addition to MAGA paraphernalia, were found in his backpack. Paramedics took Gamboa to the hospital and later booked him on a charge of murder.

Although Redd said it was "too early" to tell if the shooting was politically motivated, it is clear from the available evidence and the facts on the ground that the shooter aimed at killing anti-Trump protesters. Police, who are enjoying Trump's license to violence against protesters, admitted that the shooting was "possibly associated" with the protest. What else could it be? Could the pro-Trump shooter have been peacefully hunting or innocently practicing his 2nd amendment rights which, by accident, took place in the midst of an anti-Trump protest?

Demonstrators carry signs and chant while marching during a "No Kings" protest, Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP)

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a rare non-MAGA republican, said the shooting is "deeply troubling...The shooting at tonight’s protest in Salt Lake City is a deeply troubling act of violence and has no place in our public square," Cox wrote on X.

About 30,000 people marched in the No Kings protest against Donald Trump's authoritarian rule between Pioneer Park and the Federal Building before the shooting on South State Street.

Police said the "No Kings" demonstration had been peaceful before the shooting. Hundreds of similar marches and protests rolled out in cities across the country on Saturday to protest Donald Trump by shouting anti-authoritarian slogans and voiced support for protecting democracy and immigrants rights.