Much more Guard troops, cops than protesters at the Utah Capitol

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(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) One of the twelve protesters carries a flag face down at the Utah Capitol around noon on Sunday, January 17, 2021.

The Utah Capitol remained safe Sunday.

Although federal law enforcement had warned of armed demonstrations in chapters across the country in the wake of the Jan. 6 pro-Trump attack on the U.S. Capitol, only about 15 protesters showed up on the lawn of the Utah State House. Even this number is generous.
For most of Sunday’s rally, spectators outnumbered the extremist and anti-government Boogaloo Bois who organized the rally. The only pro-Trump presence was a handful of men waving flags quietly for hours in support of defeated President Donald Trump. Viewers took selfies, walked with their dogs and sat with their children, drinking milk, watching the scene unfold.
Not to mention the endowments of law enforcement and the National Guard that lined the building, about 50 of which were parked at the southern entrance of the Capitol at all times, ready for an assault that never arrived.

Were it not for the police and precautionary tape wrapped around the building and the small group of armed protesters, it could have been any other unusually warm Sunday afternoon in January.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) George Zinn responds to a woman who said derogatory things about President Donald Trump at the Utah Capitol, where a dozen protesters gathered on Sunday, January 17, 2021.

As Howard Medrano, a tourist who went through the rally, said, “It’s a beautiful day to protest, but I guess we’ll have a beautiful day without a big protest, and that’s good.”

The eight Boogaloos, who organized the event and refused to give their name, called the massive presence of law enforcement a “joke” as they were left with rifles just south of the Capitol entrance. . They wore brightly colored Hawaiian shirts, a staple of the wardrobe for their movement, and held two flags and two signs. When a news helicopter turned its head, they raised the signals to the sky.

“Are you prepared enough for this situation?” one called into a megaphone the Utah Highway Patrol soldiers.

Utah officials closed the Capitol and other government buildings after federal law enforcement warned of the potential for violence following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Salt Lake City FBI office had said it had not received “specific” or “confirmed” threats of violence here, but had an “elevated stance” and had established a command post on Capitol Building grounds. Utah.
He was also cited in the Utah National Guard, the Utah Highway Patrol and other local law enforcement. Gov. Spencer Cox declared a state of emergency Thursday because of possible violence from this protest or others that are looming ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration Wednesday.

“Today’s protests have been peaceful and law-abiding, certainly the preferred outcome, and we hope it stays that way for the next few weeks,” Governor’s Office spokeswoman Jennifer Napier-Pearce said Sunday. “The presence of the Utah Highway Patrol and the Utah National Guard ensured the safety of our Capitol and we appreciate their service.”

Cox tweeted that Sunday’s result “was our best scenario, as many agitating groups canceled their plans and those who came were peaceful.”

Lieutenant Nick Street, a Utah highway patrolman, said that while the protest became “non-existent,” the large police and military presence was significant.

He said police were learning of the planned protests from social media posts in “marginal” places in the days following the Jan. 6 attack, but most were shut down when Sunday’s protest took place. .

“We couldn’t help but take it seriously,” he said. “It simply came to our notice then. We would have been “bold if we did, bold if we didn’t.” All states went through what Utah was doing. “

Street said officials are likely to cut off police officers patrolling the Capitol, which remains closed, in the coming days. There will be some increased security, however, as the Utah legislature begins its annual session on Tuesday.

Street said the recent overweight measures are due to “the specific day circled in our calendars,” which was Sunday.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) National Guard troops at the Salt Lake City State Capitol on Sunday, January 17, 2021.

That rally remained peaceful for the entire three hours the Boogaloos spent on the Capitol grounds, intermittently telling police and troops watching versions of, “It’s all a joke.”

They meant police and media presence, but for the Boogaloos who protested on Sunday, even their organization is a joke, born of an Internet meme that they said became real as people he treated it that way.

The group told the story of Duncan Lemp, a 21-year-old who became a martyr to many anti-government extremist groups after being killed by police during an early-morning gun raid without a batting order, as reported by the Washington Post. They also talked about the importance of coming together as citizens (regardless of political affiliation) against an oppressive government.

One carried a sign defending qualified immunity and police unions. The other apologized to national security agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, and Ross William Ulbricht, creator of the now-defunct dark network market, Silk Road.

Many passers-by, however, did not take the protesters too seriously. Some passing motorists incorrectly assumed it was a pro-Trump rally, and shouted, “F — Trump” as they passed. The Boogaloos called Trump a “dictator” and denounced the deaths of George Floyd and Ashli ​​Babbitt, who were killed by Capitol police during the Jan. 6 riot.

Towards the end of the protest, a woman had a boombox over her head and played the song “FDT” (meaning F — Donald Trump) by YG and Nipsey Hussle in rehearsal. The Boogaloos responded by announcing, again, that they did not support the president.

“Can you change it to ‘F — tha Police’ for NWA?” asked a Boogaloo over a megaphone.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Members of the Bois de la Libertad at the Salt Lake City State Capitol on Sunday, January 17, 2021.

A spectator, who only identified himself as Colin, relaxed on the lawn with his family and dogs and said it looked like those protesting were just trying to get noticed by the dozens of reporters walking around the venue. of the Chapters.

“They’re people looking for attention,” he said.

When Shylah Poirier and her husband approached the compound with their two girls and their dog on a family scavenger hunt, they hesitated to approach the south steps.

“I didn’t really want to get into the property,” he said, “especially with the kids.”

But ultimately, he thought it would be a good lesson for his children to see that groups of people have different beliefs and may have room to share them peacefully.

The girls walked to the south steps, a few meters from the yellow police line, took a photo near a beehive sculpture for scavenger hunting and left.

About an hour later, the Boogaloos also left.

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