Prosecutors: Denver security guard to be charged with 2nd-degree murder in shooting of demonstrator at rally

Jessica Flores, USA TODAY
·2 min read

Denver's district attorney announced Thursday that she plans to charge a television station security guard with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a man at a "Patriot Rally" in Denver last weekend.

Matthew Dolloff, 30, will be charged on Monday for the death of Lee Keltner, 49, Denver's District Attorney Beth McCann said. Keltner, an armed services veteran, was at the rally to express his support for local police officers.

Keltner participated in what was called a "Patriot Rally," a right-wing demonstration that happened while protesters at a left-wing "BLM-Antifa Soup Drive" demonstration held signs and rallied against Nazis and white supremacists.

Dolloff was working as a private security guard for a KUTA-TV producer during the opposing rallies on Saturday when he shot Keltner. Officials said the shooting happened after Keltner got in an argument with a 27-year-old man at the rally.

Keltner and Dolloff confronted each other after the argument, police said.

According to an arrest affidavit, Keltner slapped Dolloff in the head and Dolloff pulled out a semiautomatic handgun. Dolloff fired his gun as Keltner shot pepper spray at him, photos of which have gone viral on social media.

Keltner appeared to be upset that his argument with the 27-year-old was being video recorded, according to a video taken by KUSA's producer.

Dolloff's family attorney Doug Richards told The Denver Post that Dolloff was acting in self-defense when he opened fire.

Keltner was a U.S. Navy veteran who ran a hat-making business in the Denver area, the Post reported.

“He wasn’t a part of any group,” Keltner's son, 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.”

Contributing: Susan Miller and Joel Shannon, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Denver security guard to be charged with second-degree murder