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The left-wing activist group 50501 has announced that they have disassociated themselves with the Salt Lake City chapter of the group after one of the Salt Lake City 50501 "peacekeepers" fatally shot a bystander when attempting to shoot someone who had an AR-15 rifle.
"We are unable to release any further information at this time as this is still an active legal investigation. To reiterate, we are decentralized. Each local group is autonomous, and they are responsible for their planning. Due to SLC 50501's disregard for our nonnegotiable values, we are no longer affiliated with them," the national group said in a social media post.
Last Saturday, during the Salt Lake City "No Kings" protest, there were thousands marching in the streets of the city in a protest against President Donald Trump when a couple of so-called "peacekeepers" associated with 50501 Salt Lake City spotted and confronted Arturo Gamboa, who was carrying a rifle at the event. Open carry of firearms is legal in Utah.
One of the "peacekeepers" claimed that Gamboa was handling the rifle in a "firing position," however, video released earlier this week appeared to show his statement contradicted actual events, as the video appeared to show Gamboa pointing the rifle down at the ground, ready to be of use, but not aiming at anyone.
The "peacekeeper" fired three shots at Gamboa, who was injured by one of the shots, but another bullet fatally wounded innocent bystander Afa Ah Loo, who leaves behind a wife and a 2-year-old child.
The national activist group 50501 said in the aftermath of the shooting that the Salt Lake City chapter failed to keep with the group’s standards.
"The presence of weapons and any action that endangers lives stands in direct opposition to the values we uphold. We feel deep anguish that harm unfolded in a space connected to our name and vision,” the national chapter of 50501 said. "While we do not permit firearms at 50501 protests, we recognize that Utah law permits the open carry of weapons, and this reality shaped some of the events that unfolded.”’
"Peacekeepers” from the organization are also given instructions in order to de-escalate conflict, and guns are specifically mentioned. In addition to questioning whether or not to call police when someone has a gun, the national group instructs so-called “peacekeepers” to “talk calmly” to shooters with a weapon, or to try and repeat a phrase such as, “You don’t have to do this,” or “You don’t have to go to jail today,” which did not appear to be followed in this case.
The Salt Lake chapter of 50501 tried to slam critics of the group on their Facebook page after the shooting took place, saying, "Some of you seem to think a keyboard and social media give you a free pass to be nasty and accusatory," and then added that the "peacekeepers" ran "towards the danger in order to serve this community."
Gamboa was facing murder charges on suspicion of being the shooter earlier this week, however, his charges have not been finalized, per CNN. He has been held without any charges in the Salt Lake County jail only because of District Attorney Sim Gil's extensions on the detainment.
“A three-day extension was requested because the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office has not yet received a formal screening of the evidence associated with the charge of murder, for which Mr. Gamboa was booked,” the DA's office said.
Gill, a Soros-linked DA, has previously been slammed over allegedly targeting police officers with spurious charges as well as allowing for drug crime to run rampant in Salt Lake. The so-called "peacekeeper," although under investigation, has not been met with any charges and has not been publicly identified.
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