SALT LAKE CITY — A dozen "No Kings" protests are scheduled across Utah on Saturday as millions are once again expected to gather in the U.S. to rally against the perceived authoritarian practices of the Trump administration.
The 12 demonstrations in Utah are a fraction of the more than 2,500 planned around the country. Ezra Levin, a leading organizer of the protests, said the demonstrations are a response to what he called Trump’s “crackdown on First Amendment rights.”
Saturday's protests are the first since the mostly peaceful events took place around the country on June 14, including a march through Salt Lake City in which fashion designer Arthur Folasa Ah Loo was shot and killed by a peacekeeper who believed a nearby participant carrying a rifle was a threat.
We measure how far away the victim was in the Salt Lake City protest shooting:
According to Salt Lake Indivisible, safety volunteers will be present at Saturday's rally at the Utah State Capitol, although how many has not been released. Those volunteers will be unarmed, with each having received de-escalation training.
"Either a de-escalation training hosted by a local community leader here, or a four-hour intensive workshop hosted by longtime activists, where we covered protest safety, role playing, hassle lines, how to approach people with a weapon, how to have a conversation with them, and how to de-escalate potential conflicts," explained Ken Charette, communications director with Green Wave Utah.
Attendees have also been asked not to bring weapons.
“We really want this to be a very uplifting, happy event of people coming together in a community to kind of try to erase and replace some of the bad memories,” said Jamie Carter of Salt Lake Indivisible.
A similar march planned following Saturday's rally outside the Utah State Capitol has been called off by organizers due to the large number of people expected to attend.
“As the numbers crept up, we decided we didn’t really have the resources to support the march and the rally," said organizer Sarah Buck with Salt Lake Indivisible. "We decided the focus should be on the place most people could participate, which would be the rally.”
Buck said her group, which has been holding public protests since Trump first took office in 2017, has worked on educating people to not engage with counterprotesters who may have ulterior motives.
"Counterprotesters come to get you to engage, and that's often where the anger comes up and potential for violence," she said. "So walk on by, as Dionne Warwick said, just walk on by."
SATURDAY'S "NO KINGS" PROTESTS IN UTAH:
- BOULDER - Boulder Town Park Pavilion - 11 a.m.
- CEDAR CITY - Main Street Park - 9:30 a.m.
- EPHRAIM - Ephraim City Hall - 11 a.m.
- FILLMORE - 50 S. Main Street - 11 a.m.
- HEBER CITY - County Building/City Hall - 11 a.m.
- LOGAN - Cache County Historic Courthouse - 1 p.m.
- MOAB - Swanny City Park - 9 a.m.
- OGDEN - Ogden Municipal Building - 10 a.m.
- PARK CITY - Jeremy Ranch Park and Ride - 8:30 a.m.
- PRICE - 120 E. Main Street - Noon
- PROVO - Provo City Hall - 2 p.m.
- SALT LAKE CITY - Utah State Capitol - 11 a.m.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
