The wife of the man shot and killed at the Salt Lake City “No Kings” protest last June is requesting a jury trial to determine the damages of her loss.
Attorneys for Laura Ah Loo, the wife of Arthur Folasa “Afa” Ah Loo, filed the wrongful death lawsuit and jury demand in Utah’s 3rd District Court on Monday, alleging that the local leadership of the political movement who organized the protest, and the man responsible for firing the shot that killed Afa, should be held accountable for the emotional and financial harms his family has suffered at the loss of their husband and father.
Afa’s mother is also identified as a plaintiff in the case.
“Something that Afa lived by in his life and in his work was this: ‘If you’re going to do something, do it well.’ In the events leading up to his death, critical decisions were made without the careful thought and planning that situations like this demand,” Ah Loo said in a press conference on Monday. “The choices made by multiple individuals were careless and irresponsible, and the consequences have been devastating for our family and for the many people around the world who love Afa. The weight of losing my husband has been felt every minute of every day by me and by our now 7- and 5-year-old children.”
The lawsuit comes just weeks before the next national No Kings protest, scheduled for March 28. Following the events of last summer, the national organizers of the No Kings movement had said they dissolved their affiliation with the Salt Lake City branch, though their website currently advertises multiple protests in the state, including Utah’s capital city.
Their website also touts that the “impossible” was achieved on June 14, 2025, when they “peacefully mobilized millions of people to take to the streets and declare with one voice — America has No Kings,” despite the loss of life that occurred during the protest in Utah.
Attorneys for the Ah Loo family determined that Afa’s death was ultimately caused by the volunteer local 50501 chapter’s “ill-prepared manner” of organizing the protest.
What does the complaint allege?
Following Donald Trump’s second presidential win in 2024, the nonprofit organization 50501 was created to protest his administration and what they considered a monarchical leadership of the United States.
The name stands for “50 states, 50 protests, 1 movement,” per the filing, and local chapters for the national group were responsible for planning and executing each protest individually.
The civil lawsuit names six organizers of the Utah protest and highlights decisions they made ahead of the event that Ah Loo’s legal team found concerning and unprofessional.
“Contrary to the national policy for other No Kings rallies around the nation, the local organizers in Salt Lake City encouraged their members to carry concealed weapons,” Jim McConkie, an attorney on Ah Loo’s legal team, said in a press release on Monday. “At the last minute, the local organizers engaged armed volunteers shortly before the rally, without adequate vetting, training or realistic de-escalation preparation.”
According to the filing, the local No Kings chapter hired a group identified as Armed Queers SLC as its security for the event in Salt Lake City, with which defendant Matthew Alder was affiliated.
One count of second-degree manslaughter was also filed last December by the Salt Lake County Attorney’s office against 39-year-old Alder, a so-called “peacekeeper” at the event. He had his first court appearance on Jan. 6 of this year.
Three days before the event, a march permit was applied for under the name Michael Andaman, claiming he was a part of a group called “Utah Protest and Rally, LLC.” Per the filing, attorneys for Ah Loo have not been able to find anyone with that name or group affiliation, “and because Utah 50501 was the only organization tied to the creation, marketing, advertising and speaker selection for the rally that matched the permit’s protest and route description, it is believed and therefore alleged that the permit would have only been sought by or at the behest of the Leaders of Utah 50501.”
The filing added that the local chapter requested that its members conceal-carry at the event, in addition to the armed volunteers, or “peacekeepers” they had acquired.
Utah leaders for the 50501 chapter contacted Armed Queers SLC a day before the march was to take place, giving “themselves inadequate time for them and Armed Queers to reasonably investigate the background and experience of those who volunteered to be part of an armed private security force,” according to the filing.
Alder and the other peacekeepers were apparently dressed in yellow vests and carrying radios on the day of the event.
As the protesters began to march from Pioneer Park to the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building in Salt Lake City, organizers became aware of a person dressed in all black carrying an assault type weapon, later identified as Arturo Roberto Gamboa, and peacekeepers were deputized. Police reports say Gamboa was openly carrying a rifle and that Alder was concerned he was going to fire on the crowd.
Afa, per the filing, was near the incident but was unaware of what was unfolding.
“Video surveillance prior to the incident showed Gamboa walking to the west in all black with his gun pointed toward the ground,” per the filing. “Despite any obvious or apparent imminent danger, defendant Alder pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Gamboa.”
The filing continued, “Even if defendant Alder felt Gamboa was an imminent threat to himself or others, which he did not have reasonable cause to believe, defendant Alder could have walked several feet to the west to ensure he was shooting against a wall and not into a crowd of those he claims he intended to protect. defendant Alder, with little to no known training in crowd control or de-escalation, failed to clear an area behind Gamboa and instead simply started to fire his gun.”
Utah is an open-carry state.
Alder fired three shots: one hit Gamboa, one hit no one and his last bullet fatally hit Afa.
McConkie emphasized that if the Utah 50501 chapter had followed safer protocols, “of no guns and training to deescalate instead of to shoot first, there would have been a very different result. We would not have lost a husband and a father.”
He noted that, as the investigation is still unfolding, more people could bear responsibility for the death of Afa and potential compensation for his family.
If the case proceeds to trial, Ah Loo’s attorneys are asking for a jury to determine the appropriate damages, including medical and funeral expenses, as well as general damages for lost affection and companionship.
