(Headline USA) A leftist radical claiming to be a security guard murdered a peaceful “Patriot Rally” protester in downtown Denver after an altercation tragically escalated.
Matthew Dolloff, 30, was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder following the Saturday afternoon attack near the City Civic Center, not far from the state capital and a popular downtown pedestrian mall.
It was the latest in a litany of examples involving violent anarchist rioters—many associated with the domestic terrorist group Antifa—abusing longstanding press protections under the First Amendment by falsely impersonating legitimate journalists and others with legitimate news-gathering objectives.
He literally wasn’t even a security guard.@9NEWS just hired an AntiFa thug with a gun. https://t.co/uyQc8Z3vxz
— Pete D’Abrosca (@pdabrosca) October 11, 2020
Although Dolloff was not licensed to perform work as a security guard, he was hired by a local TV station nonetheless during coverage of the Patriot Rally, a counter-protest to an event being held by Black Lives Matter and Antifa.
“[T]here is no record for an active licensed security guard now or ever for an individual named Matthew Doloff or Dolloff. If he was operating as a security guard, he was in violation of the law,” said the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses.
It noted that for the offense of impersonating a security guard alone, he could face a fine of nearly a thousand dollars and up to a year in jail. Moreover, KUSA-TV, the station that hired him on behalf of its 9NEWS broadcast, could face administrative action.
KUSA said it had hired the guard through the Pinkerton security firm. “It has been the practice of 9NEWS for a number of months to hire private security to accompany staff at protests,” the station said.
The shooting victim, who died at a nearby hospital, was identified by his son as Lee Keltner, a 49-year-old U.S. Navy veteran who operated a hat-making business in the Denver area, according to the Denver Post.
“He wasn’t a part of any group,” Johnathon Keltner told the newspaper. “He was there to rally for the police department and he’d been down there before rallying for the police department.”
Surveillance and bystander footage appeared to show the two men engaged in an argument during which Keltner allegedly slapped and sprayed Mace at Dolloff, the Post reported, based on its photographs from the scene.
Dolloff allegedly drew a gun from his waistband and shot Keltner in the head, according to the Post journalist who witnessed the episode.
A woman who said she was the victim’s mother, Carol Keltner, wrote in a social media post that her son was killed after being shot in the head.
A decision on any charges will be up to the Denver District Attorney’s Office, police said.
A spokesperson for District Attorney Beth McCann said Sunday that the arrest affidavit in the case remained sealed and referred further questions to the police.
It was not immediately clear if Dolloff had an attorney.
Police Division Chief Joe Montoya said two guns were found at the scene, as well as a Mace can.
The shooting occurred beneath a city surveillance camera, and police said they have footage of the incident, KUSA-TV reported.
Representatives of Pinkerton did not immediately return email and telephone messages for comment.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
