A Project Runway contestant was shot and killed at a “No Kings” rally in Utah after a man brandished a rifle at demonstrators.
Fashion designer Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, 39, was accidentally shot Saturday evening by a member of the rally’s official peacekeeping team, after they opened fire on another man who had pulled out an AR-15 style rifle.
Peacekeepers shot at Arturo Gamboa, 24, after they confronted him with their handguns drawn and he allegedly ignored their orders to drop the weapon, instead running toward a crowd with the rifle held in “firing position,” according to Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd.
Caught in the crossfire, Ah Loo was critically wounded and later died at a hospital. He is survived by his wife and two young children, according to a GoFundMe set up for his family, which has raised more than $180,000.
Gamboa, who was dressed in all black clothing and wearing a black mask, sustained a minor gunshot wound and has been charged with murder. Authorities said it’s still unclear what his intentions at the protest were and why he brought a rifle.
Ah Loo, a Utah resident, appeared on Season 17 of fashion design reality TV show Project Runway in 2019. He finished 13th in his season and was known as one of the faster sewers, who would help other contestants finish their projects.
He was highlighted in January on local TV for dressing stars of Moana 2 for the red carpet.
Originally from Samoa, his friend Susi Malohifo’ou remembered him as a “trendsetter in many ways in the fashion world” in comments to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
After recently becoming an American citizen, Ah Loo cast his vote for the first time in 2024.
He had joined the anti-Trump rally, which reportedly drew around 10,000 people to downtown Salt Lake City, because he was someone “who believed in equity and equality for all people and all communities,” Utah State Representative Verona Mauga, a friend of Ah Loo’s, told KSL-TV. “He believed that everyone was deserving of basic human rights. And that’s why he was there.”
Saturday’s “No Kings” protests drew millions of people nationwide to rally against President Donald Trump and his administration, following a wave of protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles last week.
Anti-Trump protests took place in all 50 states—with one data analyst estimating it may have been the biggest day of demonstrations in American history.
The peacekeepers’ actions are part of the investigation into the Salt Lake City shooting, according to the Associated Press. Sarah Parker, a national coordinator for the 50501 Movement—a partner in the “No Kings” protest—told the AP that attendees, including peacekeepers, are instructed not to bring weapons, although she said the peacekeepers’ actions helped prevented a larger mass casualty event.
“Our safety team did as best as they could in a situation that is extremely sad and extremely scary,” Parker said.
