Wife of Afa Ah Loo has filed Lawsuit Against Rally Organisers ‘Peacekeeper’ after the Death of Her Husband

2026-03-11 - 23:38

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March 9, 2026 Source: Gephardt Daily. Laura Ah Loo, the widow of the man fatally shot, allegedly by a “peacekeeper” aiming at someone else, during a Salt Lake City “No Kings” rally and march on June 14, 2025, has filed a lawsuit. The suit — also brought by Taupouga Folasa Samoa, the mother of victim Arthur “Afa” Ah Loo, and on behalf of his two children — was filed against the organizers of the event in Salt Lake City and against Matthew Scott Alder, the alleged shooter. The lawsuit, filed Monday in 3rd District Court, seeks damages of more than $300,000, to be determined at trial for pain and suffering, loss of financial support, funeral expenses and other costs. The lawsuit comes after Alder was charged with manslaughter in December by the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office in the shooting death of Ah Loo, a Samoa-born fashion designer and activist for Utah’s Polynesian arts community. Alder fired three shots at Arturo Gamboa, a man attending the march who was carrying a rifle at the event. One bullet hit Gamboa, causing a flesh wound. The last shot hit Ah Loo in the head, causing fatal injuries. The lawsuit notes that Alder could have moved to a different spot “to ensure he was shooting against a wall and not into a crowd of those he claims he intended to protect.” Laura Ah Loo spoke to reporters at a news conference called by her attorneys at law firm Parker & McConkie. “I stand before you, once again, to seek accountability and justice for my husband, Afa Ah Loo, who was killed as an innocent bystander while peacefully protesting in a public space nine months ago. “Something that Afa lived by in his life and in his work was this: If you are 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. “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.” Laura Ah Loo said her children, now 5 and 7, will live the rest of their lives without their loving father, and “they live with the awful reality that their dad was killed by a bullet in a situation that could have been prevented. This is the tragic cost of doing something poorly when people’s safety is on the line.” She said Alder was an untrained volunteer “who chose not to follow basic safety protocols, failing to properly assess and attempt to de-escalate the situation before firing multiple shots at an individual whose gun was down and unloaded, with thousands of people in the surrounding area. “Decisions like this made without proper training or judgment carry irreparable consequences and put public safety at stake. It is my sincere desire that my husband’s death will help all of us think about how we can make large public gatherings safer for everyone. “There must be greater planning, accountability and concern for safety when organizing large events, including careful consideration of who is entrusted with responsibilities and how those events are managed for the sake of our community’s safety. We need to do better. It is time for all of us to care about public safety in order to help prevent tragedies like this from happening again.” Attorneys for Ah Loo’s family pointed out that although carrying a visible gun is legal in Utah, several states have succeeded in putting firearm safeguards in place for people attending large political gatherings.