Manslaughter charge filed in SLC ‘No Kings’ shooting nearly 6 months after protest. What took so long?

One hundred seventy-two days.

That’s how long Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill took to charge 43-year-old Matthew Scott Alder in the shooting death of Arthur “Afa” Folasa Ah Loo, 39, who was protesting during Salt Lake City’s “No Kings” march.

Alder was a member of the June 14 event’s volunteer safety team. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Ah Loo’s widow, Laura Ah Loo, called the wait “long, painful and deeply frustrating,” but commended Gill’s decision to pursue charges as “moral and just.”

[Read more: What we learned from charging documents in the deadly ‘No Kings’ shooting.]

“For five months, there had not yet been any accountability for actions or clarity as to how such a horrific incident would be addressed, nor remorse from Matt Alder himself for taking Afa’s life from us and from the world,” Ah Loo said Wednesday. “... Today’s charges represent a significant first step in the right direction and establish a precedent that I hope will lead to a safer environment at public gatherings in the future.”

Gill’s office has already spoken with Alder’s attorney and has issued a summons for him to appear in court. Prosecutors did not seek immediate detention because Alder was cooperating with the investigation and he is not considered a flight risk, Gill said.

Alder’s attorney could not be reached for comment.

The timing of the charge, Gill said, stemmed from the shooting’s unusual circumstances and Utah’s “liberal open carry laws.”

What happened at the march

Alder told police he fired his weapon at 24-year-old Arturo Gamboa, who was carrying a rifle, after he feared Gamboa would “mag dump into a crowd of people to kill as many people as he could,” charging documents say.

Alder allegedly fired three shots; one struck Gamboa, wounding him, and another fatally struck Ah Loo. The shots sent thousands of protesters scattering downtown.

Gamboa was arrested the night of the shooting but was later released after investigators determined he never fired his weapon. On Wednesday, Gill announced his office would not pursue charges against Gamboa because he was lawfully permitted to carry the rifle.

The district attorney, however, noted that Gamboa’s conduct “could reasonably be perceived as alarming and irresponsible.”

Reached for comment Wednesday after Gill’s announcement, Gamboa’s attorney, Greg Skordas, said he would not make any public statements about the case until his client could also be available to speak.

Alder cooperated with police and was not arrested after officers detained him and another safety volunteer that night, authorities said.

Immediately after the shooting, organizers with Utah 50501, the activist group that coordinated the demonstration, said in a statement that the events’ safety volunteers saw someone acting suspiciously, believed there was an “imminent threat to the protesters” and “took action.”

The national 50501 movement cut ties with the local chapter a few days later, citing the Salt Lake City group’s disregard for the outfit’s strict no-weapons policy.

How Gill’s team made a decision

In Utah, county and city prosecutors weigh evidence and — almost always — decide themselves whether to file charges and what charges to file.

Gill took the rare step in this case of trying to instead present evidence in secret to a grand jury. Grand jurors decide whether prosecutors have shown probable cause that a crime has been committed and if so, what charges should be filed. Utah grand juries are summoned only when a panel of state judges considers potential cases and decides one is needed. The panel meets three times a year — in January, June and October.

Gill said his first request for an expedited grand jury was denied July 18. The panel denied his second request on Nov. 5.

“We went through a very arduous process internally with our entire homicide team,” weighing the evidence against Utah’s self-defense laws, Gill said, “and we tried to turn every stone we could.”

In October, an appellate court in Massachusetts issued a ruling that analyzed a similar bystander shooting. On Nov. 20, Gill’s office received an analysis of the bullets taken from the No Kings scene. Both of those developments helped his team reach a decision about charging Alder, the district attorney said.

‘Complicated feelings’

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, appearing at a charity event Wednesday morning, said he had not been briefed on any details in advance of Gill’s announcement that he had charged Alder.

“Our heart goes out to the family in such a terrible tragedy — and everyone who was impacted that day,” Cox said. “I know it was traumatic for everyone who was present, just the worst possible thing that could have happened.”

The Republican governor said he would follow Gill’s prosecution closely.

Andrew Wittenberg, spokesperson for Mayor Erin Mendenhall, said the mayor “is grateful to the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office for their diligence and thorough investigation of this case.”

“We support,” he added, “the continued pursuit of justice for this tragic loss of life.”

In a joint statement, two Pacific Islander lawmakers — Reps. Verona Mauga, D-Taylorsville, and Jake Fitisemanu D-West Valley City — said the announcement of charges “brings complicated feelings of relief, sorrow, anger, and hope.”

“It has been a long and painful road to get here. Our hearts are with Afa’s family and the whole Pacific Islander community, who have carried unimaginable grief since June,” the duo said. “We are grateful that we are finally seeing movement toward accountability. In a moment when justice has felt distant, today feels like a step in that direction.”

Wrongful death suit looms

Laura Ah Loo’s Salt Lake City attorney Jim McConkie said in a news release Wednesday that his client’s legal team will be “right there pushing along” with prosecutors on the case. He said Ah Loo plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit in the coming weeks and that Alder will be named as a defendant. Ah Loo’s legal team will not pursue action against Gamboa, he said.

“Our aim in this case,” McConkie told reporters, “is to seek justice for Laura and her family, is to seek answers for the whole community about what happened so that we can make progress — implement policies that will make all of us safer as a community.”

Brian Stewart, another member of Ah Loo’s legal team, said in a statement that he is hopeful the case will improve oversight of public events across the state.

“I wish so badly that losing my husband, Afa — who was an incredible father, advocate, creative, and champion for others — didn’t have to happen unnecessarily to raise awareness of this issue,” Laura Ah Loo said Wednesday. “The grief of losing him has been profound and overwhelming, and I am resolved to continue striving for meaningful justice and change, and look forward to future cooperative efforts.”

Gill, meanwhile, said that after his work to determine what charge could be filed, he is hopeful state policymakers will make gun laws more straightforward.

“There are many states here in this country that have great open carry laws, but they also have restrictions on gatherings and public events, so you don’t end up with those kind of misunderstandings,” he said. “... I think prosecutors would like more clarity than less clarity.”

Tribune reporters Tony Semerad, Jose Davila IV and Jessica Schreifels contributed to this story.