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<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3b0731116e44138c05a7c8a1be86b214" style="color:#1a1414;font-size:14px"><strong>Motorist who shot dead two environmental protesters blocking a road is retired US lawyer &#8216;with a conviction for illegal possession of firearms&#8217; </strong></h1>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-16a8fc21194e417680fc59812df64e67" style="color:#1a1414;font-size:14px"><strong>Gunman <strong>Kenneth Darlington,</strong> &#8216;declared &#8220;this ends here&#8221; before walking up to the road block on a section of the Pan-American Highway in the Chame district </strong></h1>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-66d2990aa5a55d3e0be6e95e9853dd20" style="color:#1a1414;font-size:14px"><strong>He got into a heated argument with a group of men,<strong> he then opened fire&#8217; on the environmentalists, killing the two men, in the presence of the gathered public, photographers and TV film crews </strong></strong></h1>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f16b36c9d7dc97f3ab4f161fbfcf4f4e" style="color:#1a1414;font-size:14px"><strong>Darlington, 77, was filmed on Tuesday approaching protesters blocking a highway in Panama, and shooting two of them dead with a handgun </strong></h1>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d65decc49981fb0de879d779f3a66599" style="color:#1a1414;font-size:14px"><strong>Darlington, who has both U.S. and Panamanian citizenship, has a previous conviction for illegal possession of firearms, local media reported </strong></h1>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0d30a85dabf53a23951eddfdb6c637dd" style="color:#1a1414;font-size:14px"><strong>Darlington, who has dual American and Panamanian citizenship appeared before a judge in the town of La Espiga on Wednesday afternoon, and was remanded in custody </strong></h1>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ad1dbf87c67fc9b7d995107541d47d45" style="color:#1a1414;font-size:14px"><strong>He&#8217;s expected to be charged with murder and illegal possession of a gun </strong></h1>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Kenneth-Darlington-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-454000" style="width:841px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Entitled: Gun loving retired Panamanian born American lawyer Kenneth Darlington, 77, [photo], has been identified as the motorist who shot dead two environmental protesters &#8211; both teachers &#8211; who were blocking a road near the Chame District, in Panama, on Tuesday </strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A motorist who publicly executed two unarmed environmental protesters blocking a road in Panama on Tuesday November 7, has been identified as a retired American lawyer.<br>Kenneth Darlington, a 77-year-old the Panamanian-born US citizen, appeared before a judge in the town of La Espiga on Wednesday afternoon, and after a two-hour hearing was remanded in custody. <br>Eliécer Plicett, a lawyer for the two victims, said Darlington was being charged with was charged with two counts of aggravated homicide and the illegal possession of firearms, <a href="https://www.tvn-2.com/nacionales/kenneth-darlington-comparece-hoy-audiencia-chame-muertos-panama-detencion-homicidio_1_2090309.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TVN Noticias</a> reported. <br>He was ordered to be held in Chame.<br>Local media reported that the septuagenarian, who was seen in both video and pictures shooting dead two teachers blocking a road on a highway, has a previous conviction for illegal possession of a firearm.<br>According to the file presented by the Public Prosecutor&#8217;s Office, encountering the the blockade on the on a section of the Pan-American Highway in the Chame district, near the exit to Punta Chame, Darlington told his traveling companions, &#8216;this ends here,&#8217; then proceeds to get out of his vehicle and walks up to the road block </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Kenneth-Darlington-arrested-by-police-in-Panama-2-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-454027" style="width:840px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Darlington is seen being put into the back of a police van after the shooting incident on Tuesday. he appeared before a judge in La Espiga on Wednesday, charged with murder and the illegal possession of a gun</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The protesters have for three weeks been campaigning against the Panamanian government&#8217;s agreement with a Canadian firm to run Central America&#8217;s biggest open-pit copper mine for at least another 20 years.<br>The mine is in an environmentally sensitive area.Darlington, who lived in the exclusive Paitilla district of Panama City, got stuck in traffic caused by the protesters who had set up a road block on the highway, about 55 miles west of Panama City, the country&#8217;s capital.<br>He reportedly told other passengers in the car as he got out: &#8216;This ends today.&#8217; <br></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Kenneth-Darlington-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-454001" style="width:838px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Kenneth Darlington, 77, (seen Tuesday) appeared before a judge in the town of La Espiga on Wednesday afternoon, and after a two-hour hearing was remanded in custody</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Kenneth-Darlington-3.png" alt="" class="wp-image-454002" style="width:840px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Darlington was seen in footage pulling a gun from his pocket and waving it in front of the protesters as he got into a heated argument with them in the middle of the road</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Video and pictures show how he stormed up the road from his car to the road block and starts arguing with the group, mostly made up of teachers.<br>He then takes a handgun out of his pocket and then begins clearing the barricade on the motorway, still arguing with protesters.<br>He then got into a heated argument with a group of men who had barricaded that section of the road, that included the two victims.<br>In front of a large number of photographers and television crews there to film the protest, he then gunned down the two unarmed men in cold blood.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Kenneth-Darlington-left-faces-off-with-eco-activist-4.png" alt="" class="wp-image-454004" style="width:840px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Darlington is seen in video of the incident gesturing with the handgun in his right hand, as he argues with the protesters blocking the road</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The charging complaint sheet states that there were few men at the site. <br>Three of the male teachers walked up to Darlington to resolve the issue in an attempt prevent the situation from escalating. However, after arguing with the protesters, Darlington who was was waving a handgun shot the first victim. He then fired several shots at another man.<br>First Darlington walks to where the protesters were and spoke to several of the teachers, mostly women, tying to hone in on who the leaders of the protests were. <br>The teachers told him that there were no leaders at that point, before he tells them &#8216;I do not want to talk to women. I want to talk to the men&#8217;.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Kenneth-Darlington-left-confronts-eco-activist-5.png" alt="" class="wp-image-454005" style="width:842px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>One man, seen in a black t-shirt holding a flag, got into a heated argument with Darlington (left). The American is understood to have said &#8216;I want to talk to men&#8217;</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Kenneth-Darlington-left-shoots-eco-activist-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-454006" style="width:839px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>This is the moment one of two environmental protesters blocking a road in Panama was shot dead by the irate driver, who had told people in the car he was in earlier: &#8216;this ends here&#8217;</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Witnesses report that as he was firing at the victims, Darlington tells several people who were standing there nearby &#8220;This is the end of the problem.&#8221; <br>He then proceeded to remove the rubble from the place and return to their vehicle, where his companions, one of them his girlfriend, immediately ask him &#8216;Are you aware of what just happened?&#8217;.<br>According to the police report, the shooter responds, &#8220;Yes, I killed one and shot another.&#8221; <br>As he gets in the car, he says to his girlfriend &#8220;Let&#8217;s go&#8221; to what she says &#8220;We&#8217;re not leaving.&#8221;<br>Eliécer Plicett, a lawyer for the two victims, said Darlington was being charged with was charged with two counts of aggravated homicide and the illegal possession of firearms, <a href="https://www.tvn-2.com/nacionales/kenneth-darlington-comparece-hoy-audiencia-chame-muertos-panama-detencion-homicidio_1_2090309.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TVN Noticias</a> reported. <br>He was ordered to be held in Chame.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Kenneth-Darlington-shoots-eco-activist-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-454008" style="width:838px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph">The first man to be shot is seen being treated on the ground by two bystanders</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">First Darlington walks to where the protesters were and spoke to several of the teachers, mostly women, tying to hone in on who the leaders of the protests were. <br>The teachers told him that there were no leaders at that point, before he tells them &#8216;I do not want to talk to women. I want to talk to the men&#8217;.<br>TVN reported that Darlington asked several teachers who the leaders of the demonstration were. The protesting teachers told him that there were no leaders, so he replied: &#8216;I don&#8217;t want to talk to women. I want to talk to men.&#8217;<br>At the court hearing, it was heard that a few men were at the scene, and three of them approached him in an attempt to calm the situation. <br>This can be seen in the footage of the incident leading up to the shootings. The three men &#8211; two in black t-shirts and one in red &#8211; confront the man.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Kenneth-Darlington-left-confronts-eco-activist-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-454010" style="width:841px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>A second man also confronted the gunmen. This photo was taken moments before he was also shot by Darlington in Chame, Panama</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">One of the demonstrators can be heard saying: &#8216;Why don&#8217;t you shoot?&#8217; Others shouted at the man: &#8216;Are you going to kill someone?&#8217; to which he replied: &#8216;Do you want to be the first?&#8217; <br>After remonstrating with the protesters, Darlington is then seen to open fire.<br>The first victim, seen wearing a black t-shirt, blue hat and carrying a flag, falls to the ground immediately. <br>As the man in red backs away, Darlington opens fire again, hitting the other man wearing a black t-shirt. He can be seen holding his shoulder, grimacing in pain and staggering over to the side of the road where he falls down.<br>Witnesses report that as he was firing at the victims, Darlington tells several people who were standing there nearby &#8220;This is the end of the problem.&#8221; </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Kenneth-Darlington-left-confronts-eco-activist-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-453999" style="width:840px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Darlington is seen standing in the middle of the road after being seen to have shot two people in the middle of the protest, sending bystanders running for cover</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Kenneth-Darlington-4.png" alt="" class="wp-image-453997" style="width:838px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Darlington is seen holding a handgun after walking up to a teachers&#8217; blockade on the Pan-American Highway in Chame, Panama</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">One of the victims, Abdiel Díaz, died at the scene, according to <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/panama-protests-shot-dead-gunman-driver-pan-american-highway-bl8k0xc8x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Times. </a><br>The other victim, Iván Rodríguez, 62, was taken to the Juan Vega Méndez clinic in the nearby town of San Carlos, but was dead on arrival at the hospital. <br>TVN reported that after Darlington cleared away more of the road block, handgun still in hand, he returned to his car.<br>One of the other people in the car asked him: &#8216;Are you aware of what has happened?&#8217; The court heard his response was: &#8216;Yes, I killed one and shot another.&#8217;<br>He then got into the car and told a women &#8211; reported to be his girlfriend: &#8216;Let&#8217;s go&#8217;.<br>She replied: &#8216;We&#8217;re not leaving.&#8217; TVN reports that the woman then called National Police Agents, who later stopped the car and seized the firearm. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Kenneth-Darlington-5.png" alt="" class="wp-image-453996" style="width:840px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Still holding the handgun, Darlington is seen attempting to clear the blockade in the road after she shot two of the protestors and showed no remorse</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Kenneth-Darlington-arrested-by-police-in-Panama-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-453994" style="width:842px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Darlington is arrested on Nov. 7, after shooting two protesters with a gun in the middle of a teachers&#8217; blockade on the Pan-American Highway in Chame, Panama</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Footage shared on social media showed Darlington being handcuffed and taken away by police.<br>However, if he is convicted, the 77-year-old could be sentences to house arrest and not jail time on account of his age, according to local reports. <br>Local media reported that Darlington, who was born in the Panamanian province of Colon, was attempting to drive back to the interior of the country after various errands in the city of La Chorrera when he came across the roadblock.<br>Darlington will next appear in court in Panama City on November 15. <br>The attorney who is best known as the attorney for Marc Harris, a Panamanian accountant who was jailed for 17 years in 2004 after being convicted of money laundering and tax evasion, himself he was arrested in 2005 after weapons, including an AK-47 and M-16, were found in his Panama City apartment.<br>He was acquitted on the weapons charges after a court accepted his plea that the weapons were part of a collection.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Traffic-in-Sillimin-western-Panama-after-Kenneth-Darlington-shot-eco-activists-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-453992" style="width:837px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Trucks are seen stranded in backed up traffic near Sillimin, western Panama, on Tuesday as the anti-government protests entered their third week </strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Vigil-in-Panama-for-victims-shot-by-American-Kenneth-Darlington-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-454020" style="width:841px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>A woman draped in a Panamanian flag lights a candle during a Wednesday night vigil for the slain protesters</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The murders of protesters by Darlington come as street protests by thousands of Panamanians during the past weeks over a new mining contract signed with Canadian mining firm First Quantum Minerals spilled into wider discontent with the government.<br>Road blocks set up by protesters have caused up to $80 million in daily losses to businesses, according to Panama&#8217;s association of company executives, with schools closed nationwide for over a week and more than 150,000 medical appointments missed.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Vigil-in-Panama-for-victims-shot-by-American-Kenneth-Darlington-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-454018" style="width:840px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Protesters hold a vigil on Wednesday night to remember the two teachers and climate change activists shot dead on Tuesday by Kenneth Darlington</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Protests-in-Panama-over-American-Kenneth-Darlington-shooting-eco-activist-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-454016" style="width:840px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Construction workers&#8217; and teachers&#8217; unions have vowed to continue with the protests until the First Quantum contract is annulled. Workers [photo], Tuesday mounted roadblocks to protest against a big mining contract on a main road near Silimin, western Panama</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Officials have urged people to end the protests, though construction workers&#8217; and teachers&#8217; unions have vowed to continue taking to the streets until the First Quantum contract is annulled.<br>The new contract, agreed on October 20, was signed into law by Panama&#8217;s government, and provides First Quantum a 20-year mining right with an option to extend for another 20 years, in return for $375 million in annual revenue to Panama.<br>While the government has said the new contract offers better terms than the previous one, protesters disagree.</p>

US lawyer ‘with a conviction for illegal possession of firearms,’ Kenneth Darlington, 77, arrested in Panama after he declared “this ends here” then opened fire on environmental protesters, killing two
