ST. GEORGE, Utah — About 40 to 50 people gathered in St. George Sunday afternoon to protest child abuse and demand the prosecution of pedophiles.
Protesters assembled outside the Fifth District Courthouse around 3 p.m., carrying signs that read "Honk if you hate pedos," before marching to Town Square Park.
Lindsay Coleman, a lifelong St. George resident who organized the protest, said the demonstration was not meant to be partisan.
"Whether you're left or right, everyone agrees that children need to be protected," Coleman said.
"This is not a Democrat-only protest, which a lot of people thought. This is for everybody, Republicans, Democrats, whoever wants to show up and fight the good fight," Coleman said.
Some signs at the protest were directed toward President Trump. Coleman noted that he is named several times in the Jeffrey Epstein files. She said she had to turn off comments on social media because of those who felt the protest was aimed too much toward the president.
"If we can't hold our officials to the same standard as us or an even higher standard, then they shouldn't be our officials," Coleman said. "These dangerous people are keeping it hidden for good reason because they know what they're doing is wrong."
Sunday's turnout of about 50 people was far smaller than the 3,000 who marched in the same area in July 2020 against child abuse and trafficking. That protest was led by Operation Underground Railroad founder Tim Ballard and then-Attorney General Sean Reyes.
Coleman said she feels momentum from that earlier march faded before real change could be achieved.
"Unfortunately, I do feel like it died out before we could actually see any real justice," Coleman said. "So all we can do is keep trying and keep fighting until we get the job done."
