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Matthew Robert Dolloff is a Colorado man who was named in a jail booking report as the security guard who shot and killed a man at dueling protests in Denver. He is being charged with second-degree murder by the Denver District Attorney.
The shooting left a man affiliated with the Patriot Rally dead. 9News confirmed it had contracted with the security guard “to accompany staff at protests,” as the outlet said it was done “for a number of months.”
Social media filled up with criticism of the news station for hiring a guard with left-wing views. 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. However, most of his social media posts relate to livestock and selling honey, eggs and turkeys for a local farm.
The deceased man was named as Lee Keltner, a Navy veteran and grandfather who ran a hat store and was at the Patriot rally.
However, one man has alleged that Keltner threatened him before the shooting. He said he wasn’t armed.
He alleged that Keltner threatened him with violence and attacked the news crew. Westword reported that Jeremiah Elliott was the name of the protester in an altercation with Keltner.
Video has emerged of that altercation:
“We don’t know if they were a security guard or authorized to carry a weapon,” police commander Joe Montoya said of the suspect in the initial news conference from the scene, but police later confirmed the suspect was a “private security guard.”
According to 9News, a “Patriot Rally” was scheduled that day and was met by a counter-protest called “BLM-Antifa Soup Drive.” A local talk show host claimed the man who died was part of the Patriot Rally and was “defending himself with bear spray.” However, photos show the man who died was touching the face of the guard and then sprayed the bear spray at him before the guard opened fire. You can see the photos throughout this story. The deceased man is a Patriot Muster Militia supporter who hasn’t yet been named, according to social media posts.
Montoya said it wasn’t clear whether the victim was at the Patriot Rally or not.
The jail booking sheet spells the suspected shooter’s name incorrectly as Matthew Doloff, 30. It says he was booked for first-degree murder, and no bond was allowed. He has a court date on October 12.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Shooting Occurred in the Courtyard by the Art Museum; Dramatic Photos Show the Shooting
GettyDolloff, right, and the man who died.
Talk show host Richard Randall wrote on Twitter, “I was interviewing a woman about 10 yards away when THIS happened. The man on the left had just left the event held by Tig & other patriots. He was defending himself with bear spray. He was shot in the face & has died. 2 suspects in custody.”
A series of photos published by Getty images shows Dolloff reaching toward the other man as the man reaches toward Dolloff’s face. The man’s hand appears to strike or touch the guard’s face before Dolloff fires. After the man is shot, a cloud of bear spray appears in the air from the canister in his hand before he falls to his knees with his hands up. Another photo shows the man who was shot spraying what appears to be bear spray before he’s shot. Next, you see the fatally wounded man lying on the ground, and police with guns drawn surrounding Dolloff. Here are more of the Getty photos:
GettyDolloff and the man who died.
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Some people say photos and video evidence show the deceased man backing up before he was shot.
The man who died was wearing an American flag mask and a T-shirt that said “BLM” and “f******…lives matter.” Because he’s wearing a vest, it’s not possible to read all of the saying on the shirt. He has tattoos on both arms.
BREAKING: I saw at least one person shot as the rally was ending. I heard one gun shot. At least one person being arrested nearby #9News
“ALERT : Officers are investigating a shooting that occurred in the Courtyard by the Art Museum. 1 victim transported to the hospital their condition is unknown, 1 suspect in custody,” Denver police wrote on Twitter.
I was interviewing a woman about 10 yards away when THIS happened. The man on the left had just left the event held by Tig & other patriots. He was defending himself with bear spray. He was shot in the face & has died. 2 suspects in custody.
At about 3:30 p.m., the protest activity was starting to break up and people were starting to leave the park when, at 3:37 p.m., officers working the event got on the air and indicated there were shots fired, a person down and a suspect in custody, Division Chief Joe Montoya said.
Both the suspect and victim are white males. The name of the man who was shot has not yet been released.
2. Dolloff Sold Honey at Gun Shows, Posted Some Protest Photos, Made Anti-Trump Comments & Shared Occupy Democrat Posts
FacebookMatthew Dolloff
Matthew Robert Dolloff’s last visible post on Facebook reads, “The grief is real, no one better checked my world view more, and his impressions were amazing. I cant seem to whip away the tears today Michael Brooks was to young and just getting started #leftisbest #michaelbrooks I’m going to miss right-wing Mandela this is hard to accept.”
He did have some anti-Trump rhetoric on his Facebook page. “F*** this guy,” he wrote of Trump in 2016.
He called a reporter who posted a pro-Joe Biden headline an “establishment prick” on Twitter. Most of his Twitter posts deal with the farm where he worked and livestock, such as pictures of turkeys.
He posted a video showing him at an Occupy Denver protest.
When radio host Dan Caplis wrote, “The beauty of the Creator is seen in the beauty of creation-Catholic Catechism. The view from our DTC law office on a beautiful Spring morning in Colorado,” Dolloff tweeted this reply, “Ask him how I’m going to pay my bill and why he made this virus. Your an idiot ppl like your are the worst.” He wrote another person on Twitter, “should your handle be neoliberal? Who calls them self an Obama democratic your an embarrassment.” When former U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke wrote a post about taking care of veterans, Dolloff responded, “HELL NO F you BETO we are already sick of paying for war f off.”
He liked a man’s tweet in 2016 that read, “Me and @BernieSanders. #FeelTheBern.” He also liked a woman’s tweet that read, “The confederate flag should be treated just like the swastika. #tytlive” and anti-Trump and Ben Carson tweets. He also liked a tweet that read, “Also, look at how cute these Bernie bumper stickers are. #tytlive.”
He shared this video from an Occupy Denver protest:
Here’s another post:
And another:
He shared Occupy Democrats posts, including one criticizing the slogan All Lives Matter, and wrote FTP, a common abbreviation for “f*** the police,” on another post.
In 2016, he posted a picture of a protest in which people were carrying signs reading, “bailout our school system” and “this is about loving everyone. Even you, officer.” In 2017, he was tagged by Lavender Moon Farm, which wrote, “Thank you Tanner Gun Show!!” However, photos show he worked for that farm selling honey, eggs and other items at the gun show.
Other posts show him with his girlfriend and at a Colorado casino. In 2011, he shared a picture of people carrying a flag at an Occupy Denver march. His Facebook profile says, “Studies Pilitical Science at University of Colorado Denver.”
In 2018, he wrote, “can anyone copy edit my website. www.lavendermoonfarm.com ? thanks just looking for errors.” He also posted pictures of him at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. He posted a BBC story about a man with “transracial identity.” It’s a story about a Black man who felt like he was a white man. He didn’t indicate his position on it, though.
Dolloff wrote in 2018, “R.I.P. Charles Krauthammer I have both disagreed and agreed with your political analyst, you are an oddity in today’s world. We will miss your insight dearly.” He also posted a graphic reading, “How to talk to your cat about gun safety.”
He wrote in 2018, “The State of the Union is depressed, exhausted, and broke.” That same year, he wrote of the farm, “We sell raw Wildflower and Clover honey. Head to our website to order yours today.”
In 2017, he wrote, “We had such a great time at the Tanner Gun Show this weekend. The next Denver Tanner Gun Show is December 2nd and 3rd.” He shared photos of puppies and livestock.
He occasionally got political but most of his posts are pictures of the above. In 2017, he shared a YouTube video titled, “Trump wrestles the English language in WSJ interview.” Dolloff wrote, “I cant stop laughing.”
A picture showed him with a gun out hunting and he wrote, “Got to love Turkey season.”
In 2017, he wrote, in a typo-riddled post, “Lets juat hope no Russians where not on the ground when the missiles came down im Syria.” He added, “See that’s where your wrong I don’t suport the strikes due to the price tag. I don’t like what we are buying also I just don’t want to start shit with Russia. I don’t doubt all this is for the pipeline that the UAE wants to go though siyria, Russia national security is at stake if the pipeline is put though. The Saudis and the UAE want Bashar out of their so they can get someone in to approve of the pipeline to supply natural gas to Europe. As a political science I really don’t give a shit about a video made to rally suport for a political agenda. My job is to analyze the facts and uncover the truth behind the connected dots.”
3. Police Denied Dolloff Is Affiliated With Antifa & Said There Was a ‘Verbal Altercation’ at the Scene
Matthew Dolloff
People claimed on Twitter that Matthew Dolloff’s tattoo shows alliance with antifa (shorthand for “anti-fascist”), but police disputed that. The wrist symbol is used by some members of antifa, but it’s also from a popular video game, Space Invaders, that doesn’t have antifa meaning to many. Another Twitter user dissected that claim and said that Dolloff had the tattoo before the symbol became popular with antifa. “That’s not what the tattoo is though. This photo is from his facebook and it’s labeled ‘space invaders tat’ and apparently he got in 2012, which is way before the space invaders ‘antifa’ stuff. Sub.mission is a music promotion company that he’s affiliated with,” wrote that Twitter user.
“Update: Further investigation has determined the suspect is a private security guard with no affiliation with Antifa. Additional information will be released as it becomes available,” Denver police wrote on Twitter.
Montoya said Mace was recovered at the scene, and police are still trying to determine whether a rumor that the victim had used it was true, despite the photos clearly showing it was.
“There was a verbal altercation that transpired at the area of the shooting that was between the art museum and the Denver public library. A firearm was discharged. An individual was shot and later pronounced deceased. There were two guns recovered at the scene,” Montoya said. There is video capturing the incident.
He said it wasn’t confirmed at the time of the news conference that the suspect was affiliated with a television station. The suspect was arrested immediately after the shooting occurred.
He said the suspect was at police headquarters. A second person was initially taken into custody but was determined to be non-related, he said.
“There was a large presence because we have two groups with opposing views,” said Montoya of the reason so much law enforcement was at the scene.
Police wrote, “Further investigation has revealed that, at the time of the shooting, the suspect was acting in a professional capacity as an armed security guard for a local media outlet and not a protest participant. Immediately following the incident, rumors were circulating regarding the suspect’s affiliation with a particular group. Investigators are unaware of whether the suspect is personally affiliated with any political organization.”
4. The Security Guard Did Not Have a License, According to Reports
FacebookMatthew Dolloff
According to 9News, “the private security guard in custody was contracted through Pinkerton by 9NEWS. It has been the practice of 9NEWS for a number of months to contract private security to accompany staff at protests.” Pinkerton is a private security agency. According to The Washington Post, he was not licensed to work as a security guard in Denver.
However, 9News later clarified: “Pinkerton, however, said it does not actually employ Dolloff – Pinkerton did not share the name of the company for which Dolloff worked.”
The victim was pronounced dead at the hospital. “They did render aid right away,” said Montoya.
FacebookMatthew Dolloff
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock tweeted: “While we encourage peaceful protest, we will never tolerate demonstrations escalating to clashes and violence. Political differences should be resolved at the ballot box and not in the streets, and we will keep it that way through this election season and beyond.”
5. Video Captured the Tense Nature of the Dueling Protests
A couple hundred feet away a group with an “Antifacist Action” flag as well as a “Denver Communists” flag is at a standoff with a line of police in riot gear #9News
9News reporter Marc Sallinger tweeted tense scenes from the protest, writing:
Dozens of militia group members arrive for the ‘patriot muster’ in Denver. Many are carrying shields and wearing helmets.
A couple hundred feet away a group with an ‘Antifacist Action’ flag as well as a ‘Denver Communists’ flag is at a standoff with a line of police in riot gear.
There are a lot of police officers out today separating the two groups. There are also fences all around civic center park keeping the two groups apart. The far-left group here right now is shouting ‘the only good cop is a dead cop.’
Here’s video from Tig Tiegen’s @johntiegen Instagram right before Denver shooting. Patriots leaving after peaceful rally. Antifa/BLM had thrown soup cans (supposedly collected for homeless)at cops before shots fired. I’m hearing victim – patriot rallygoer- was shot point blank.
Sallinger also wrote:
There are a couple hundred people on either side. They’re separated by fences very far apart as well as a line of police officers facing the far-left side. One side is now chanting ‘USA, USA’ while the other side is chanting ‘black lives matter.’
A line of police officers kneel down to put on gas masks, perhaps foreshadowing what’s to come. The officers are lined up in front of a line of far-left groups organized by the Denver communists #9News.
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