Thousands march to Utah Capitol for ‘No Kings’ rally, looking ahead to November

Thousands marched to the Utah Capitol Saturday in a lively show of opposition to President Donald Trump, chanting “this is what democracy looks like,” calling for an end to the Iran war and condemning the federal government’s plan to convert a Salt Lake City warehouse into an immigration detention center. 

“We must fight for a future where the needs of working class people are put before racist deportation campaigns and endless wars,” organizer Samantha Reagan with the student group Mecha de U of U said to thunderous applause at the No Kings demonstration. 

Led by Reagan, the group chanted “Money for jobs and education, not for war and deportation!” at the Salt Lake City and County Building before walking more than a mile to the state Capitol in one of dozens of similar demonstrations around the state and nation.  

The Utah Highway Patrol estimated attendance at 8,000, said Sgt. Andrew Battenfield. The number eclipsed the crowd at Salt Lake City’s last No Kings event in October, with speakers on Saturday calling for Utah to translate the energy into strong turnout at the polls during the midterm elections. 

“We need to keep this energy through November. Let’s make sure our voices are heard,” Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman, a Democrat, said from the Capitol steps. 

Protesters celebrated the defeat of a recent push led by Utahns for Representative Government (a group founded by the head of the Utah GOP) to repeal a 2018 anti-gerrymandering law. The law, passed through a voter-approved ballot initiative, kicked off a yearslong process resulting in a new, safe blue congressional district — a departure from Utah’s current all-GOP congressional delegation and an assist for the Democratic party as it seeks to reclaim a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.  

But protesters said there’s much more to be done. Many focused on what they said are attacks on voting access by Trump and Utah Sen. Mike Lee, saying Utah needs to carry forward lessons learned from the civil rights era when Black Americans marched, fought for and won the right to vote.

Jeanetta Williams, president of the NAACP’s Salt Lake branch, said a proposal from Lee known as the SAVE America Act would add citizenship verification requirements that are an effective poll tax because they make the registration process more expensive for some voters and impose barriers to voting. 

“Let me be clear. Nobody gave us these rights,” Williams said. “We fought for them. We bled for them. People died for them. And we are not about to let them take that away from us.”  

Lee has said the legislation is necessary but he’s open to making changes to the bill to get it passed.

As they marched on State Street and approached the site of a fatal shooting at last June’s No Kings protest,  William Green and his father, Matt Green, of Kayesville, said they had concerns about their safety but decided not to let fear keep them from joining the demonstration. 

“We have to find the courage to stand up and then continue to show up despite the risk of those kinds of tragedies,” Matt Green said. 

On June 14, Afa Ah Loo was marching with fellow demonstrators and was taking video when an armed safety volunteer accidentally shot him in the head, authorities said. Ah Loo, 39, was a celebrated fashion designer and father of two from Clearfield.

The volunteer, Matthew Scott Alder, also wounded his intended target, a man carrying a rifle during the protest, as permitted by Utah law, according to Salt Lake County prosecutors. They charged Alder with manslaughter in Ah Loo’s death, but his legal team maintains he didn’t break any laws. Ah Loo’s family sued him last month, along with six people they say organized the protest. 

On Saturday, William Green held a homemade sign saying “ICE is the new Gestapo,” referring to the secret police force of Nazi Germany. William Green said he doesn’t believe the agency is being held accountable and called the new planned detention center in Salt Lake City “terrible.” 

“A warehouse isn’t meant to hold people. It’s meant to hold items,” William Green said. “I think that kind of says a lot about how we’re treating immigrants in this country.”

Lex Gunnell of Logan agreed, carrying a sign with the names of people who were killed by ICE or died in the agency’s custody last year. Gunnell recalled crying continuously while researching and spelling out the names. Reflecting on the planned detention center in Salt Lake City, Gunnell said it’s reminiscent of Japanese internment camps during World War II.

One counter-protester, John Pilivi, stood on the sidewalk with a pro-Trump flag and a large speaker playing “Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice as protesters passed by. Pilivi said the demonstrators have a right to express their opinion, but he agrees with Trump’s policies and actions and believes most Americans do, too.