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What is 'Patriot Muster'? One Denver protester shot dead by private security guard

The victim, who was allegedly gunned down by a private security guard, was identified to be a part of the 'Patriot Muster'

One person was killed and two people were taken into custody, including one private security guard and one news producer on Saturday, October 10 after gunfire erupted during a protest in downtown Denver's Civic Center Park. The news producer was later released.

The victim, who was allegedly gunned down by a private security guard, was identified to be a part of the "Patriot Muster." "The Patriot Muster" protester maced the security guard, who then pulled out his handgun and shot him dead, as per Denver Post. 

KUSA-TV, a local Denver news station also known as 9NEWS, reported that the private security guard was hired by the news station. "A private security guard who was hired by 9NEWS is the suspect detained by DPD," the news outlet wrote. "It has been the practice of 9NEWS for a number of months to hire private security to accompany staff at protests." A KUSA producer also was initially in custody but has since been released. According to a Fox 10 report, the security guard was not a part of the Antifa. 

Video of the incident shows one shot being fired. In the video, a man wearing a "Black Guns Matter" T-shirt is loudly arguing, in explicit language, with several men. One of the men moves out of view of the camera, and seconds later, he is shot. "There was a verbal altercation that transpired. A firearm was discharged," Joe Montoya, Denver Police chief of investigations said while talking to media. "An individual was shot and later pronounced deceased. There were two guns recovered at the scene." Another video shows several police officers rushing to the scene, shouting, “Drop the gun!” A man can be seen getting down on the sidewalk as officers surround him. The shooting happened at 3:37 PM ET, near the courtyard of the Denver Art Museum as the protests were winding down, officials said.

One side of the protests was described as a "Black Lives Matter Anti-Fascist Soup Drive" on Facebook. Some of the groups attending the protest were Denver Communists, Colorado Socialist Revolution, Anon Resistance Movement, W.I.T.C.H. Denver, H.O.E.S (Help on Every Street), and Front Range Mutual Aid Network. The group description also reads, "Our preferred strategy is to simply outnumber and outshine these fascists anytime they show their faces. We want to send these worms back into their holes, demoralized and isolated, with only their racist, r*pist president to console them." Chelsea Jacobs, a member of the Denver Communists, said that the event was organized in response to a "Patriot Muster" advertisement which they saw a week ago. The "soup rally" was meant to be ironic in response to comments that far-left protesters throw soup cans, she said.

According to Westworld, the other side included pro-police groups organized as "Patriot Muster". "We scheduled our action after learning that the militia-fascists had called a ‘patriot muster’ against the Black Lives Matter movement, anti-fascists and Marxists,” a representative for Denver Communists told Westword. "That’s us — guilty as charged and happy to oblige with our presence." The website also reported that the organizer of the "Patriot Muster" John Tig's Facebook profile photo shows him wearing a wide smile and a freedom-themed T-shirt and holding an automatic weapon, is part of an organization called the United American Defense Force, whose website includes lines like this: "The enemies are promising to come to your neighborhood."

"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 Department tweeted on Saturday, October 10. The department further updated by saying, "2 suspects are now in custody in relation to this shooting," and "This shooting is now being investigated as a Homicide. Updates will be posted as information comes available."

According to the Denver Post, the shooting victim had participated in a pro-police rally. "The incident occurred after a man participating in what was billed a 'Patriot Rally' sprayed mace at another man. That man then shot the other individual with a handgun near the courtyard outside the Denver Art Museum," the newspaper reported. 

"There was a large presence because we had two groups with opposing views, and we know that can always get very tense," Montoya said. "There’s always a potential for violence, we understand that. We had a large contingent there to try to watch the egress of one group, so that the other group wouldn’t intermingle with them, so that’s the reason for the large presence there," he added.