Keith Porter Sr. turns grief into action, calls for justice in son’s death and for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo

The grieving father says fear cannot stop communities from speaking out, calling on Houston residents to “make some humongous noise” in the pursuit of justice.

Months after his son was fatally shot by an off-duty U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Los Angeles, Keith Porter Sr. says grief has become purpose.

In an interview with BT Newsroom filmed in Houston, Porter reflected on the life of his son, Keith Porter Jr., who was killed on New Year’s Eve, while also urging the public to demand accountability—not only in his son’s case, but also in the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

Describing his son as a devoted father and family man, Porter said Keith Jr. lived a life centered on caring for others.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by BreakThrough News (@btnewsroom)

“Keith was a loving son, father, cousin, nephew, grandson,” Porter said. “He was a good guy. Never been in trouble with the law. Family guy. He loved his daughters. He worked really hard, kept a job and was always doing something good for someone in his family. He was always being of service.”

Porter said the pain of losing his son has only been compounded by what he believes are false claims surrounding the shooting.

“It hurts to know that his life was just taken like that,” he said. “This guy that shot him has painted this bad picture that my son fired a weapon at him, but the evidence showed different.”

According to Porter, multiple witnesses were present during the incident, but he believes fear of federal authorities has discouraged people from speaking publicly.

“We can’t let you just kill this man and then not say nothing,” he said. “I’m going to tell the truth.”

Now, Porter has joined community members in Houston demanding justice following the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, encouraging residents to organize and make their voices heard.

“We could make some humongous noise, but it has to be a collective force,” he said. “Houston is the fourth biggest city in the United States. If the people could come out, we could make a big, huge impact in this ICE stuff.”

Porter said the movement requires persistence and unity, warning against allowing either case to fade from public attention.

“You can’t let them sweep it under the rug,” he said. “If we do that, then they can just do this all day, every day.”

Carrying what he called his “ICE whistles,” Porter said staying active in the fight for justice is the best way he knows to honor his son’s memory.

“I don’t want to just sit in the house,” he said. “He wouldn’t do that if it was me. He would be up and out and active. That’s what we call it—get active.”