The private security guard who allegedly shot and killed a right-wing ‘Patriot Muster’ protester outside the Denver Art Museum has been identified as 30-year-old Matthew Dolloff.
Dolloff, a Pinkerton contractor who was hired to serve as security for 9News, was arrested on suspicion of murder after he opened fire on the Patriot Muster protester who deployed mace at him during dueling rallies on Saturday afternoon.
Family members identified the victim as Lee Keltner, a grandfather and military veteran. Carol Keltner, who said she is the victim’s mother, wrote on Facebook that her son was killed ‘because he backed police’.
In images snapped by a Denver Post photographer, Keltner appeared to slap Dolloff and then deployed a stream of mace into his face before the guard lifted his handgun and fired, sending the protester staggering backward.
Dolloff immediately surrendered to riot police who rushed in to arrest him seconds after the gunshot rang out. He is currently being held without bond on a charge of first-degree murder, according to jail records.
The Denver Police Department (DPD) said Dolloff had no known affiliation with the Black Lives Matter and Antifa group that staged a counter-protest against the Patriot Muster rally on Saturday at the Denver Civic Center.
Police declined to confirm whether the victim, who they have not yet named publicly and was pronounced dead at a hospital, was affiliated with Patriot Muster.
