Safety volunteer charged with manslaughter in shooting of Salt Lake City 'No Kings' protester

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

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.