By McKenzie Romero | Editor
It’s been one year since a bullet fired at another man at Salt Lake City’s crowded No Kings protest killed Afa Ah Loo, a compassionate a community-minded fashion designer.
After his death, his widow, Laura Ah Loo, watched anxiously as two firearm bills seeking to make public events safer were introduced to lawmakers on Utah’s Capitol Hill. But the bills languished, and at the anniversary of her husband’s death, she wishes lawmakers would follow her husband’s example of putting community first.
In today’s Dispatch, we hear from Laura Ah Loo at the one-year anniversary of the No Kings shooting, nomination hearings for two Utah Supreme Court nominees, and Paris Hilton’s call to shut down a for-profit treatment and detention center for children in Provo.
“I want Afa to always be remembered for exactly who he was — a selfless, humble, creative, kind, hilarious, inclusive, and bold person who wasn’t afraid to take action to get things done and to be the change and representation he wanted for the current and future generations.” — Laura Ah Loo, the widow of Afa Ah Loo, one year after he was killed by an armed volunteer at the No Kings march in Salt Lake City.
Flowers and pictures are left at a memorial to Arthur “Afa” Ah Loo, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at the site where he was shot and killed at the “No Kings” protest on State Street in Salt Lake City. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
By Annie Knox
Afa Ah Loo, a 39-year-old father of two and a celebrated fashion designer known for being the first Samoan contestant on TV’s “Project Runway,” was marching with fellow demonstrators last June when an armed safety volunteer fired at someone carrying a rifle and accidentally shot Ah Loo in the head.
In her statement to Utah News Dispatch, Laura Ah Loo praised two bills sponsored by Democrats earlier this year. One, sponsored by Afa Ah Loo’s friend, Rep. Verona Mauga, would prohibit people from openly carrying guns within 500 feet of large gatherings such as protests. Another sought to clarify Utah’s self-defense law so prosecutors can reach faster decisions when bystanders are injured or killed.
Jay Jorgensen, left, and Stephen Dent listen as Gov. Spencer Cox announces their nominations to the Utah Supreme Court during a news conference at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on June 2, 2026. (Katie McKellar/Utah News Dispatch)
By Katie McKellar
After spending two hearings grilling Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s nominees to fill two new seats on the expanded Utah Supreme Court, the Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee endorsed both Jay Jorgensen and Stephen Dent, advancing them for consideration in front of the full Senate on Wednesday.
Jorgensen and Dent spent much of the hearings discussing their judicial philosophies, both emphasizing their focus on “originalism” and “textualism” when interpreting the law. The two Democrats on the committee, however, raised some concerns — particularly with whether Jorgensen met the constitutional five-year residency requirement to serve on the state’s highest court.
Paris Hilton, center, poses for a group photo after a news conference in Provo on June 15, 2026. (Annie Knox/Utah News Dispatch)
By Annie Knox
Paris Hilton returned to Utah to show her support for parents suing the residential teen treatment center where she said she was abused and isolated as a teenager. One family alleges violence against their son by another student was allowed as a punishment, while another says their daughter’s medical condition was ignored, causing permanent damage.
The heiress and reality TV star has been a driving force behind new laws imposing stricter regulations on the industry in the last five years and has continued calling for the Provo Canyon School to be shut down. She said the families’ reports show it has not improved.
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