Statement on the June 14 Shooting at the “No Kings” Protest

Issued by the Utah Chapter of the Socialist Rifle Association | June 2025

The Utah Chapter of the Socialist Rifle Association mourns the tragic and preventable death of Arthur Folasa (Afa) Ah Loo, who was fatally struck by a bullet during the “No Kings” protest in Salt Lake City on June 14. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and the broader Pasifika and Salt Lake communities.

We also stand in defense of the civil liberties and due process rights of Arturo Gamboa, who was shot and arrested during the same event. Based on publicly available video evidence and eyewitness reports, Mr. Gamboa did not raise, aim, or discharge his firearm and was legally compliant with Utah’s open carry laws.

Peacekeeper Actions Contradicted 50501’s Training

It has since been confirmed that the individual who opened fire was a peacekeeper affiliated with Salt Lake City 50501 and a military veteran selected to help coordinate protest safety. However, his actions did not resemble the de-escalation protocols in 50501’s peacekeeper manual (Streetwise & Steady). That training clearly instructs peacekeepers:

• To assess before acting;
  
  
• To not confront lawfully armed individuals unless necessary;
  
  
• To never escalate or use force as a first response;
  
  
• And above all, to de-escalate with calm, communication, and nonviolence.
  
  

Instead, the volunteer chose to open fire without prior de-escalation, warning, or visible threat, resulting in the death of an innocent person and the scapegoating of another.

Security, medical, and de-escalation skills are all perishable and require continual education to remain effective. This raises serious ethical concerns. If any organization assumes the mantle of public safety, especially while armed, it must also accept the public scrutiny and responsibility that role entails. In a public statement, Utah 50501 said: “Our team of safety volunteers, who have been selected because of their military, first responder, and other relevant de-escalation experience, believed that there was an imminent threat to the protesters and took action.” We do not know what steps were taken to verify whether their volunteers’ credentials were valid.

It has since come to light that experienced leftist organizers offered Utah 50501 detailed, actionable training materials rooted in community self-defense, specifically focused on de-escalation and interactions with lawful open-carry protest participants. These organizers, proactively extended curriculum support and assistance. Utah 50501 declined these offers. Instead, they relied on a loosely assembled team with backgrounds in military and law enforcement communities, not historically trained in or accountable to nonviolent, community-based protest safety. The refusal to engage with experienced leftist trainers represents not just a missed opportunity but a profound failure of responsibility, especially given the tragic outcome.

We acknowledge that this is an active investigation. However, the disparity between Arturo’s actions and his arrest, combined with the publicly available exculpatory evidence, strongly suggests that his detention served more to shield others from scrutiny than to pursue truth or justice for Afa Ah Loo.

50501 Parent Group Has Acknowledged the Failure

The national 50501 Movement has since issued a public statement acknowledging that the Salt Lake City protest did not uphold their strict no-weapons, nonviolence policy. They admitted their early statements were inaccurate and have since removed those posts. They stated:

“The presence of weapons, and any action that endangers lives, stands in direct opposition to the values we uphold.”
“We acknowledge and own those mistakes… and deeply regret any additional harm they may have caused to Arturo.”
— 50501 Movement, Instagram, June 2025

They have since cut ties with Salt Lake City, 50501. This is a notable first step toward accountability, but not enough.

This Was Functionally an Officer-Involved Shooting

Though the shooter was not a police officer, the situation bears all the marks of an officer-involved shooting:

• An armed individual tasked with “security” used lethal force based on a subjective perception of threat, not imminent danger.
  
  
• The victim of that shooting, Arturo Gamboa, was then criminalized, despite not having fired a shot.
  
  
• The incident was initially framed by affiliated organizations as justified, with limited transparency and no public acknowledgment of training violations or systemic failure.
  
  

The only meaningful difference is that the shooter was not sworn law enforcement, and therefore not subject to internal disciplinary review, public accountability mechanisms, or the restraint expected of state actors.

Our Position

We affirm that the right to open carry is not reserved for the state or its agents. It belongs to the people. Mr. Gamboa’s legal and peaceful presence with a firearm should not have rendered him a target, nor should it now serve as the basis for criminalization.

We affirm that:

• Open carry is not a threat in and of itself and should not be treated as justification for using force.
  
  
• The peacekeeper’s conduct was negligent, inconsistent with training, and should be investigated.
  
  
• Mr. Gamboa’s rights have been violated—both by the use of force and by the legal consequences that followed.
  
  

We do not condone violence. We advocate for lawful, community-based self-defense. Mr. Gamboa acted within the law. His presence at the protest was neither reckless nor hostile—it was principled and peaceful. He should not be punished for surviving.

We Call For:

• The immediate release of all video and incident reports related to the shooting.
  
  
• A transparent, independent investigation into the peacekeeper’s conduct and its divergence from 50501 protocols;
  
  
• A complete reassessment of any legal proceedings involving Arturo Gamboa, in light of the actual sequence of events;
  
  
• A public review of armed peacekeeping volunteers’ role, training, and authority at protest events, primarily when affiliated with political organizations.
  
  

The Aftermath

On June 14, 2025, two people of color, Afa Ah Loo and Arturo Gamboa, were shot while exercising their constitutional right to assemble and protest peacefully. Neither broke any laws. Yet Arturo was arrested for killing Afa with a bullet he did not fire from a gun he did not touch.

Arturo Gamboa has been released without charges, but his freedom remains conditional. A judge has ordered that he must live with his father and is forbidden from possessing firearms. Despite a lack of charges, these court—imposed restrictions violate his Second Amendment rights and continue criminalizing him without cause.

The peacekeeper’s disregard for protocol and the tragic results should not be deflected onto the sole survivor. We cannot allow this moment to mirror the state violence we organize against. When armed individuals, official or unofficial, use unjustified force and take a life, they must be held accountable. To do otherwise is to repeat the very systems of repression we claim to oppose.

We grieve for Afa Ah Loo. We stand with Arturo Gamboa. We demand justice—not just for those harmed, but for the future of protest safety, political integrity, and community accountability.

— Utah Socialist Rifle Association
Educate. Train. Defend.