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widow of a loved one utah Fashion designer who was fatally shot during “No Kings” protests in June salt Lake City On Wednesday there were demands that someone be held responsible for her husband’s death without charges after more than four months in the case.
Arthur Folasa Ah Lu, known as Afa, died on 15 June when a man who was part of a volunteer peacekeeping force for the protests fired three rounds at a man who had reportedly brandished a rifle at protesters. One bullet wounded the rifleman, who did not fire, and the other bullet hit Ah Lu, a protester who later died in hospital.
The sign Ah Lu was holding that day read, “The world is watching,” said his wife, Laura Ah Lu.
“Afa always stood up for those who needed justice most,” Laura Ah Loo said during Wednesday’s press conference. “And now I stand up for her, on her behalf, for her sake and for all of us. The world is watching.”
Authorities arrested but never charged the man with the rifle, Arturo Gamboa, who they said at the time created the dangerous situation that led to Ah Lu’s death.
Police has not charged or publicly identified the security volunteer who shot Gamboa and fatally shot Ah Lu. But authorities have said they are investigating whether the man was justified in firing the handgun.
Salt Lake City’s participation in another round of “No Kings” demonstrations this month – a nationwide mobilization seen by participants as a turn to authoritarianism under President donald trump – drew renewed attention to the open-ended case.
Thousands of people rallied outside the Utah State Capitol on October 18 to share messages of hope and healing and demand justice for Ah Lu and her family.
Lawyers for Laura Ah Lu said they will file a wrongful death lawsuit against the unidentified volunteer in the coming weeks.
But legal experts say criminal charges are unlikely.
Utah gun law expert and personal injury attorney Mitch Willows is following the case and does not expect criminal charges against the security volunteer or Gamboa.
The right to self-defense and the right to carry a firearm are both strong in Utah, Willows said, and prosecutors will face a high hurdle trying to prove criminal charges against either individual.
“It’s like friendly fire. It can happen,” he said. “It happens with the army, it happens with the police.”
In a criminal case, prosecutors must convince the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime has been committed. But the bar in a civil suit would be much lower, Willows said, requiring only a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant was at fault or acted negligently.
Gamboa did not fire his rifle. It is unclear what he intended to do with it.
A lawyer for Gamboa has said that he was attending the rally as a supporter and was legally carrying a loaded weapon. Lawyer Greg Skordas said Gamboa was walking with it pointed at the ground when the volunteer shot him in the back.
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Reported from Brown denver,