RIVERTON, Utah — It seemed people of all ages were gathered in the heart of Riverton on Sunday afternoon.
“We have people who are young, we have people who are old, we have men, we have women, we have people from all different socioeconomic backgrounds,” said Jeremy H. from West Valley. "We're fed up.”
They wanted to stand in solidarity with Minneapolis after Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent.
“I know we're all stretched thin, and none of us have time to be doing this, but what else is there? Our country is just in utter chaos, and we don't have a clear plan forward,” said Salt Lake resident Lyndsay Privett.
The group marched from Riverton Park to City Hall, to the middle of the street, where Riverton Police started diverting traffic.
“Me and my friends were just having our after-church breakfast and stuff, and then we were just, like 'Oh, there's a lot of people blocking traffic and stuff.' And so we were like, 'Well, let's go check it out,'” said bystander Ethan Foster, "I personally don't agree with what they're saying, but they have every right to express it — just like, maybe don't block traffic.”
Tensions were already high, since protesters were also demanding accountability from Riverton PD after their partnership with ICE, the first department to do so in Utah.
NORTHERN UTAH
Riverton Police Department partners with ICE, the first in Utah
“We want to see them drop it. We want to see them drop the contract,” Jeremy said. “We don't need local help enforcing, frankly, unconstitutional federal laws.”
“For me, I think there's a balanced approach. Like, obviously, we need to stop the flow of illegal immigrants coming into the country, but also, we need to have compassion and grace,” Foster said.
It seems things are very heated in the world right now, and Privett just wants something to change.
WATCH: Protesters plan to continue, ramp up action against ICE operations in Utah
“I'm just hoping, recall for anybody who wants to come together and find a solution, because we need to agree on something, and we can all agree right now that this is, this is displacing communities,” she said.
FOX 13 News reached out to Riverton City and the police department to see if they had any comment for this story, but they said they do not at this time.
