The mother of a right-wing protester killed in a deadly shooting in Denver on Saturday spoke out in a Facebook post over the weekend, asserting her son was “murdered” for supporting law enforcement.
Navy veteran Lee Keltner, 49, died in a Denver hospital on Saturday after being shot in the head while participating in a “Patriot Rally” at the Denver Civic Center. The rally faced off against an “Antifa/BLM Soup Drive” rally nearby.
Police arrested Matthew Robert Dolloff, 30, late Saturday afternoon and charged him with first-degree murder in Keltner’s death. Dolloff was hired by a local news outlet as a security guard through the private security company Pinkerton. Dolloff and Keltner got into an altercation at the event, and Keltner attempted to pepper spray Dolloff when the security guard allegedly shot Keltner in the head.
“My son Lee was at the patriot rally today in Denver,” Keltner’s mother, Carol, post in a Tea Party Facebook group, according to Fox News. “After the rally, a person on the BLM and Antifa side went up to him said a few nasty words then shot him in the head. He was murdered because he backed the police.”
“His 24-year-old son was with him. I moved to Arkansas because Colorado got too expensive and liberal,” she said. “The left has gotten out of hand.”
Dolloff had a concealed carry permit, though authorities have since suspended it as Dolloff is held on the murder charge. He was not licensed to serve as a security guard in Denver, according to the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses (DDEL).
“We searched our records and there is no record for an active licensed security guard now or ever for an individual named Matthew Doloff or Dolloff. If he was operating as a security guard, he was in violation of the law,” the DDEL said. “Administratively, a security guard operating without a license could be fined up to $999 dollars and face up to a year in jail.”
“The company he works for is also legally responsible for making sure all their security guard employees have a license and could face administrative action against their required security guard employer license if they have security guards working without a license,” the DDEL added.
Pinkerton has said that although the local news outlet, 9News, hired Dolloff through the company, Pinkerton does not actually employ Dolloff. The private security agency has not said what company Dolloff works for, according to 9News. On Monday, Pinkerton released a message on its Facebook page:
We take loss of life in any situation very seriously and our hearts go out to those impacted by this situation. As it relates to the incident in Denver on October 10, the agent in question is not a Pinkerton employee but rather a contract agent from a longstanding industry vendor. Security professionals often serve as guides to protect media crews during potentially dangerous situations or hostile environments. We are fully cooperating with law enforcement authorities in their investigation.