Months after man killed at ‘No Kings’ march, no one has been charged

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM and MATTHEW BROWN, Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The widow of a beloved Utah fashion designer who was fatally shot during a “No Kings” protest in June in Salt Lake City demanded Wednesday that someone be held accountable for her husband’s death after more than four months without any charges filed in the case.

Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, known as Afa, died on June 15 when a man who was part of a volunteer peacekeeping team participating in the protest shot three times at a man who was allegedly brandishing a rifle at protesters. One bullet wounded the rifleman, who fired no shots, and another hit Ah Loo, a protester who later died in hospital.

The sign Ah Loo held that day read: “The world is watching,” said his wife, Laura Ah Loo.

“Afa has always stood up for those who need justice the most,” Laura Ah Loo said at a press conference on Wednesday. “And now I stand up for him, in his name, for him and for all of us. The world is watching.”

Laura Ah Loo, the widow of a man who was fatally shot during a “No Kings” protest in Salt Lake City in June, speaks to reporters during a news conference in the city Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)

FILE – A woman places flowers June 17, 2025, at a makeshift memorial for Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, known to friends and family as Afa, on the block in Salt Lake City where Ah Loo was fatally shot during a “No Kings” protest on June 14. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum, file)

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Laura Ah Loo, the widow of a man who was fatally shot during a “No Kings” protest in Salt Lake City in June, speaks to reporters during a news conference in the city Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)

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Police arrested but never charged Arturo Gamboa, the man with the gun, saying at the time that he had created the dangerous situation that led to Ah Loo’s death.

Police have not charged or publicly identified the security volunteer who shot Gamboa and fatally struck Ah Loo. But authorities said they were investigating whether the man had reason to fire his handgun.

Salt Lake City’s participation this month in another round of “No Kings” protests — a nationwide mobilization against what participants see as a shift toward authoritarianism under President Donald Trump — has brought renewed attention to the open case.

Thousands of people gathered outside the Utah State Capitol on October 18 to share messages of hope and healing and demand justice for Ah Loo and his family.

Laura Ah Loo’s lawyers said they would file a wrongful death lawsuit against the unidentified volunteer in the coming weeks. They also said charges should be brought against the volunteer and called for more transparency from authorities.

“It’s not a whodunnit,” said Richard Lambert, lawyer for Ah Loo’s wife. “We know who did this. We know who fired the fatal shot that took Afa’s life.”

Salt Lake County Prosecutor Sim Gill said Wednesday he sympathized with the Ah Loo family’s loss and suggested criminal charges were still possible. His office met with the family early in the process and explained that the investigation would take time, Gill said.

“We are carefully working through complex and nuanced legal analysis,” Gill said. “We hope to reach a decision soon.”