Who organized the “No Kings” protest in downtown Salt Lake City, where an armed “safety volunteer” shot and killed a protester? Answers are proving difficult to come by because the man who organized the march may not exist, and the company behind the event is a shell company in Wyoming.
On June 14, an armed “peacekeeper” shot and killed Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, one of the protesters participating in the march. The shooter claimed he drew his weapon and fired after seeing Arturo Gamboa openly carrying a rifle. Both men were hit, but only Ah Loo died.
Police originally arrested Gamboa, who did not fire his weapon, on suspicion of murder. He was released from custody last week after his legal team challenged the legality of keeping him in jail.
The protest was put on by Utah50501, which was loosely affiliated with the national 50501 Movement. The national organization cut ties with Utah organizers after the shooting over the use of armed volunteers at the event.
A search for those local organizers has hit several dead ends.
According to a copy of the permit application for the protest obtained through an open records request, the primary applicant is listed as Michael Andaman, representing Utah Protest and Rally LLC.
Michael Andaman appears to be a ghost.
The only online record of a Michael Andaman in Utah is a LinkedIn profile that was created sometime in June. It’s not clear whether the profile was created before or after the shooting.
Andaman’s profile is mostly blank. There’s no profile picture, and the only information listed is that he is an “investor” with a company known as Andaman Holdings. No such entity exists in Utah, but there are companies with that name in Florida, New York and Washington. A Colorado-based Andaman Holdings was dissolved in 2021. Andaman appears to have no connection to those companies.
Attempts to contact Andaman through LinkedIn were unsuccessful. Representatives for 50501Utah also did not respond to requests to contact Andaman.
The search for Utah Protest and Rally LLC led to Wyoming, which has become a haven for corporate secrecy. Last year, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reported that Wyoming had seen a massive spike in the number of companies incorporating in the state because of laws favoring anonymous limited liability companies.
The company was registered in Wyoming on April 10, 2025. Paperwork filed with the Wyoming Secretary of State shows the organization’s mailing address is in Sheridan, Wyoming. That address leads to a virtual office in a strip mall that is home to nearly 4,000 other businesses. Those businesses include various money making entities linked to President Donald Trump and his family, including Trump-branded watches and his famous gold sneakers.
The person listed on the Utah Protest and Rally LLC documentation as “organizer” is Andrew Pierce, whose company helps register businesses in Wyoming.
Attempts to contact Andaman or anyone else involved with the Salt Lake City “No Kings” march through Pierce’s firm were rebuffed.
Merv Bannister, a representative for Pierce’s company, confirmed via email that they were the registered agent for Utah Protest and Rally LLC, but their only role outside registering the business is to receive legal documents or tax forms on their behalf.
“To be absolutely clear, registered agents do not bear any responsibility for the actions of their clients and we will not respond to any further communication via email or phone about the Company,” Bannister said.
Bannister said they would not forward emails or other communications to anyone involved with the LLC and advised sending the company a letter at the mailing address listed on the business registration forms.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall’s office did not respond to questions from Utah Political Watch about any interactions they had with Michael Andaman or anyone else connected to the Wyoming LLC. Questions about what steps are taken to confirm the identity of those applying for a city permit went unanswered.
Questions still remain about the presence of armed volunteer “peacekeepers” at the protest. It appears that local law enforcement was unaware that they would be there.
The permit application for a demonstration asks whether organizers planned to hire private security or hire off-duty Salt Lake City police officers.
On the application for the “No Kings” event, organizers chose “none.” There is no option for the use of private security.
A spokesperson for the Salt Lake City police tells Utah Political Watch they were not aware that there would be armed security during the demonstration or march.
“We had an awareness that the event organizers were going to have people on hand to help facilitate the march, but they were not classified to us as security,” police spokesperson Brent Weisberg said in an email.
