Attorneys in Denver protest shooting debate relevance of victim’s right-wing affiliations

On the time Lee Keltner died, helium attended a right-wing rally successful downtown Denver with a antheral who bore a tattoo associated with a far-right radical and different who wore the spot of an outlaw motorcycle gang.

During the rally, Keltner’s lad referred to a Black antheral with a radical slur and threatened to “cut (him) up,” according to tribunal filings. He was carrying respective knives. And Keltner, 49, was carrying a concealed gun.

But whether a assemblage should perceive that accusation — and different details astir the time — is simply a nuanced ineligible question that’s present being debated successful the high-profile execution case.

Unlicensed information defender Matthew Dolloff, 31, was charged with second-degree execution aft helium changeable and killed Keltner arsenic Keltner near the rally connected Oct. 10. Dolloff is claiming self-defense.

The Denver District Attorney’s Office argued successful tribunal filings that immoderate accusation astir Keltner’s governmental views, and astir the quality of the radical helium attended the rally with, should not beryllium allowed arsenic grounds successful the lawsuit due to the fact that it is not applicable and is apt to improperly sway jurors.

Dolloff’s attorneys took the other stance, arguing that Keltner’s affiliations, the broader discourse of the rally and attendees’ actions that time are applicable due to the fact that they impacted Dolloff’s authorities of caput arsenic helium fired the fatal shot.

Debates astir what grounds tin beryllium presented to juries hap successful astir execution trials, with judges making decisions to bounds oregon let grounds that are aimed astatine eliminating extraneous oregon highly inflammatory accusation truthful jurors tin absorption connected the halfway of the case, ineligible experts said.

“The thought is that erstwhile you negociate the accusation that comes to the jury, you are putting them successful a amended presumption to travel to the information than if it were conscionable a free-for-all,” said Aya Gruber, a instrumentality prof astatine the University of Colorado Boulder.

Still, Dolloff’s lawsuit stands retired some due to the fact that of the ingrained governmental issues and due to the fact that helium is claiming self-defense — a determination that successful galore ways flips the publication of a mean case, the experts said.

“In the end, this is astir a antheral being changeable to decease and whether legally — not politically — it was justifiable self-defense,” said Doug Cohen, an lawyer and erstwhile authoritative who is not progressive successful the case. “But jurors bring their governmental beliefs into the assemblage room, and some sides look to beryllium good alert of that.”

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

At the opening of their fatal encounter, Matthew Dolloff, center, moving arsenic a information defender for 9News, engages with Lee Keltner, left, successful beforehand of a 9News producer, right, successful Denver connected Oct. 10, 2020. The fatal shooting occurred aft competing right- and left-wing rallies successful downtown Denver.

Dueling rallies

If the lawsuit goes to trial, jurors volition beryllium asked to determine whether Dolloff committed second-degree execution erstwhile helium changeable and killed Keltner.

The shooting happened connected a time erstwhile 2 ideologically opposed groups gathered for what was advertised arsenic “dueling” governmental rallies successful Denver’s Civic Center. On 1 broadside were the blimpish “Patriot Rally” attendees. They were met by left-leaning protesters who’d gathered for what was billed arsenic a “BLM-Antifa Soup Drive.”

Throughout the time the 2 groups were kept good isolated from each different — a mates 100 feet — with constabulary forming a buffer betwixt them. The sides shouted astatine each different occasionally and chanted.

It was erstwhile the rallies coiled down and participants began to permission the halfway police-controlled country that the Keltner encountered Dolloff.

In a confrontation captured connected video and by a Denver Post photographer, Keltner and a fistful of others were arguing with a counter-protester adjacent the Denver Art Museum erstwhile Keltner abruptly shifted his absorption to a 9News shaper who was filming the statement with a cellphone. Keltner told the shaper to enactment the camera distant and said helium was going to “(expletive) him up.”

Dolloff, who was working arsenic a information guard for Denver tv presumption 9News, stepped betwixt the 2 and physically blocked Keltner, who was holding a tin of carnivore spray. Keltner slapped Dolloff successful the face. Dolloff pulled a weapon from his loop and changeable Keltner arsenic Keltner discharged the carnivore spray.

Under Colorado law, a idiosyncratic tin use deadly unit successful self-defense lone if that idiosyncratic reasonably thinks utilizing little unit won’t beryllium sufficient, and the idiosyncratic reasonably believes helium oregon idiosyncratic other faces an contiguous menace of being killed oregon earnestly hurt.

There is nary work to retreat nether authorities law, but the enactment taken successful self-defense indispensable beryllium mostly proportionate to the attack, attorneys said.

Jurors successful self-defense cases indispensable see what the idiosyncratic claiming self-defense knew oregon believed erstwhile helium utilized the deadly unit successful bid to determine whether the idiosyncratic acted reasonably, said George Brauchler, erstwhile territory lawyer for the 18th Judicial District.

“It’s lone applicable if helium knew astir it,” Brauchler said of the disputed grounds successful Dolloff’s case.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

The remains of a emblem pain successful beforehand of instrumentality enforcement officers during a rally connected Oct. 10, 2020, successful Denver. Two rallies, 1 right-wing and 1 left-wing, took spot astatine the aforesaid clip successful Civic Center park.

Political leanings

Prosecutors person asked District Court Judge Brian Whitney to exclude details astir Keltner’s governmental views and the quality of those helium attended the rally with, successful portion due to the fact that they don’t judge Dolloff knew overmuch of that accusation erstwhile helium pulled the trigger.

In tribunal filings, Dolloff’s defence attorneys person alleged Keltner was a regular successful “right-wing extremist circles,” utilizing the codification sanction “Twisted” and posting online nether the username “Twist Ted” astir wanting to “put the boots to immoderate antifa scum.” The defence besides alleges Keltner was assertive astatine erstwhile rallies and that helium attended the lawsuit successful Denver intending to “start trouble.”

At the rally with Keltner that time was a antheral wearing a “Sons of Silence” motorcycle pack patch, the defence says, arsenic good arsenic a antheral with a tattoo connected the backmost of his caput of the twelvemonth 1776 encircled by stars, which the defence says is associated with the Three Percenters, an anti-government militia group.

Prosecutors said Dolloff did not cognize that accusation erstwhile helium pulled the trigger, and that allowing that accusation to spell earlier a assemblage would beryllium unfair.

“While the enquiry of whether Mr. Keltner has a estimation for unit whitethorn beryllium relevant, its probative worth is substantially outweighed by the information that it would confuse the issues and mislead the assemblage to see Mr. Keltner’s quality erstwhile helium is not the idiosyncratic connected trial,” Assistant District Attorney Zach McCabe wrote successful a July 2 motion. ”…This proceedings is not astir whether Mr. Keltner was the archetypal aggressor oregon whether helium has a estimation for violence.”

Additionally, there’s nary evidence, McCabe wrote, that Dolloff overheard Keltner’s lad usage the radical slur and marque the threat, though Dolloff was lasting nearby. And it’s not wide that Dolloff was alert of Keltner’s concealed firearm, McCabe said.

A spokeswoman for the DA’s bureau declined to remark portion the lawsuit is pending.

The prosecutor’s question to exclude the grounds besides raises the question of Dolloff’s governmental beliefs, saying that if specified details astir Keltner are allowed into evidence, it opens the doorway to research Dolloff’s leanings, which they accidental are liberal.

“A elemental Google hunt for Mr. Dolloff yields results reporting information successful protests that tin beryllium construed arsenic contrary to Mr. Keltner’s affiliations,” a footnote successful the question reads, linking to media sum of the case.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Matthew Dolloff raises his hands supra his caput arsenic helium is taken into custody aft fatally shooting Lee Keltner successful downtown Denver connected Oct. 10. Dolloff was moving arsenic a information defender for Denver’s 9News, but presumption officials said they did not cognize helium was carrying a gun.

Flipping the script

The prosecution’s petition to exclude and bounds grounds flips the publication of a emblematic case, ineligible experts said. It’s much communal to spot prosecutors pushing for accusation to beryllium allowed, portion the defence fights to support it out, Cohen said.

“Here they’re arguing the opposite,” helium said “It’s similar conservatives arguing for taxation increases and liberals arguing for taxation cuts.”

Still, the assemblage successful Dolloff’s lawsuit indispensable see whether Dolloff’s actions were reasonable, and portion of doing that involves putting themselves into his shoes, Dolloff’s attorney, Doug Richards, said.

“Imagine you are walking done a pack vicinity and you’re approached by radical who are intelligibly showing they are affiliated with the gang, either done words oregon covering oregon behaviour — you’re going to instrumentality that accusation and usage it erstwhile you marque a determination of what is tenable nether the circumstances,” helium said.

He added that due to the fact that Dolloff was moving arsenic a information guard, helium was paying adjacent attraction to the entirety of the surroundings and participants that day.

Dolloff is scheduled to beryllium successful tribunal Friday day for a motions hearing. The justice could perceive arguments from some sides, past marque the telephone connected what grounds volition beryllium allowed successful the case. He’ll apt gully a enactment determination betwixt the 2 sides’ positions, said Stan Garnett, erstwhile Boulder County territory attorney.

“He’ll effort to fto determination beryllium capable discourse for the assemblage to recognize what it was similar to beryllium the suspect successful the situation,” helium said, “but he’s not going to privation the proceedings to go a referendum connected the Black Lives Matter question oregon immoderate greater issues.”