A Democratic district attorney is dropping a murder charge against an unlicensed security guard who shot and killed a 49-year-old conserva...
A Democratic district attorney is dropping a murder charge against an unlicensed security guard who shot and killed a 49-year-old conservative demonstrator during dueling protests in Denver on Oct. 10, 2020.
An attorney for Matthew Dolloff, 32, told Denver’s KUSA-TV that the Denver District Attorney’s Office would drop a second-degree murder charge against his client on Friday.
A representative of District Attorney Beth McCann, a Democrat, later confirmed that prosecutors would be dropping charges against Dolloff.
“In line with our ethical obligations, we cannot overcome the legal justifications of self-defense or defense of others,” the prosecutor’s office said in a tweet. “We are not able to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Legal expert Scott Robinson questioned why prosecutors decided to drop charges now.
“The timing is incredibly unusual,” he told KUSA. “This is the sort of charging or non-charging decision that should’ve been made in October 2020, not in March of 2022.”
Dolloff was on the scene of dueling protests — a “Patriot Rally” demonstration and a counterprotest by left-wing groups — in downtown Denver as a security guard for a KUSA camera crew.
Video of the altercation showed demonstrator Lee Keltner in a verbal confrontation with a Black Lives Matter supporter.
Keltner confronted the KUSA crew, going on to slap Dolloff on the cheek.
Dolloff pulled a gun while Keltner was back away from him. After Keltner withdrew pepper spray and deployed it in response, Dolloff shot him in the head.
WARNING: The following video contains graphic violence and language that some viewers may find disturbing.
Dolloff was unlicensed to act in the capacity of a security guard for KUSA at the heated protest.
The security company that contracted Dolloff’s services to KUSA agreed to give up its license in the city of Denver following the shooting, according to KKTV-TV.
Dolloff’s social media postings demonstrated his left-wing ideology.
“A review of the social media accounts of Matthew Dolloff shows that he did post left-wing comments, unleashing an expletive against President Donald Trump and sharing Occupy Democrats and protest-related posts. He also liked posts favorable to Bernie Sanders,” Heavy.com reported.
Keltner, a Navy veteran and hatmaker, didn’t bring a lethal weapon to the protest.
He was known in Denver’s motorcycle community, and his supporters are slamming the Denver prosecutor’s decision to drop charges against Dolloff.
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