Sixty people gather at SLC to support black lives and police reform

A rally supporting black lives and heavy police surveillance that called on the new administration Joe Biden to focus on a “workers’ agenda” saw some of its temperate fire on Monday after a blizzard erupted.

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Utah Against Police Brutality hosted the event, and about 60 people gathered at the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building in downtown Salt Lake City. Speakers called for more community policing control, action on climate change, immigration reform, an end to bailouts for the rich and immediate relief for those who continue to face economic uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are here today because Joe Biden won the election, and we have to raise hell,” an organizer named Adrian, who did not give a last name, told the crowd. “We have to remind him that hundreds of people in the United States, probably more, are out of work, on the streets begging for help.”

After the violent insurgency on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, organizers of Monday’s rally braced for possible clashes with counter-protesters. About 10 people were wearing bright yellow construction vests and acting as security.

“We have moved it to today to hopefully avoid that,” said Emma Fryer, an organizer who runs an information table at the rally. “We were going to do something on inauguration day, but in the hope of avoiding clashes, we chose today. But I think things have calmed down a lot ”since the insurgency earlier this month.

Fryer added that Martin Luther King Jr. Day was also a suitable holiday to host the gathering because “we are also here … to celebrate his mission and talk about the things he was fighting for.

Gatherers waved Black Lives Matter flags and held signs calling for immigrant rights. They chanted familiar calls heard over the summer during protests against police violence, including “No justice, no peace” and “Hey, hey, ho, ho, these killer cops have to go.”

The cold, however, sapped much of the crowd’s energy.

Adrian, who appeared to be the host of the event, led the crowd in a chant that referred to the weather. “We are cold! We are wet! Write off the debt! “

A snowstorm arrived about 30 minutes after the rally began, leaving organizers scrambling to cover the loudspeakers and forcing participants to take cover under the portico of the federal building as uniformed police watched. inside.

As the snow fell, a speaker named Jacari of Black Lives Matter North said, “Without justice there will be no peace” and quoted Martin Luther King Jr: “Those who love peace must learn to s ‘organize as effectively as those who love war. “

The event ended at 5 p.m., an hour after it started, without any conflicts. The organizers canceled a planned march and a caravan due to the cold.

To conclude the rally, Indigenous activist and President of Pandos, Carl Moore, offered a prayer, asking for protection from the cold and snow, release from oppression and food and shelter for those who have it. need. He also asked that the new president be blessed.

But dozens of police and National Guard soldiers maintained a perimeter around the Utah Capitol. The Boogaloos called the massive law enforcement presence a “joke” and taunted the officers from their vantage point south of the Capitol entrance.

Police said the increased security – which was called for after the FBI warned of potential violence over the weekend – helped ensure the small protest remained peaceful.