SALT LAKE CITY — A judge has dismissed criminal charges leveled against a protester who stood in the road during a pro-Palestine march.
Liz Maryon was charged with walking on a road illegally, failure to stop at the command of an officer, and disorderly conduct during a May 2024 demonstration. But 3rd District Court Judge Dianna Gibson dismissed the case on Wednesday. After a preliminary hearing, court records show the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office had filed to drop the case "in the interests of justice."
"I feel like this is a victory for protester rights and will help reinforce people’s confidence that we can be in the streets and that we can, when we fight together, we can defend those rights for everyone," Maryon said in an interview with FOX 13 News on Thursday.
The May 18 demonstration called for a ceasefire in Gaza and demanded Utah divest any investments its schools and hospitals have in Israel.
"We were gathering to demand an end to even Utah-specific funding of this genocide. We rallied at the park and marched and brought attention to Utah-specific complicity in this genocide," she said Thursday.
Maryon said she was approached by an officer toward the end of the demonstration as she stood in a median on 300 South next to Pioneer Park but she did not want to speak to him.
"I knew my rights and the organizations that I work with know our rights. We knew we had the right to protest and be in the streets," she said Thursday.
In a rare move (because it does not typically defend in criminal cases), the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah represented Maryon after she was criminally charged by the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office. The ACLU argued that the case against Maryon was "inflammatory and legally unsound." They argued that there was no probable cause to stop her, no reason to arrest her and there was no lawful order for her to ignore.
"This is First Amendment 101," said ACLU staff attorney Abigail Cook. "And we want the community to know they absolutely have a right to peacefully protest in downtown Salt Lake, anywhere in our state, on the streets, on the sidewalk."
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill told FOX 13 News on Thursday that once charged, cases still receive ongoing review, as was the case with Maryon's. During her preliminary hearing — where the judge decides if there is enough evidence to make Maryon stand trial — Gill said the prosecutors handling the case were able to see the testimony and other evidence.
"You get to look at the kind of evidence, you get to see how it is presented, how it is contextualized. Sometimes that's not the same as police reports," he said, adding that prosecutors came to a consensus that the case ought to be dismissed.
"I think the worst thing we could have done is to let that continue to go further. It’s our job, if we see the tenor of that change, then our ethical duty and if we can’t prove it, then we should be dismissing it."
Maryon, the ACLU argued, was engaged in constitutionally-protected protest and Utah's laws governing people in roads does not prohibit temporary, spontaneous demonstrations. The ACLU said it believed Maryon's prosecution is part of a trend of government intimidation of protesters. Salt Lake City has seen numerous marches and rallies in support of Palestinian people, as well as mass demonstrations against actions brought by the Trump administration.
"I don’t want people to feel scared. I want them to feel empowered," Maryon told FOX 13 News. "When we stand together, when we come together to protest, we can win and we can defend our rights."
Judge Gibson dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled against Maryon.
