Organizers ended the event early and canceled a planned march due to cold and snowy weather.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Snow falls during a rally in the Salt Lake City federal building on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, January 18, 2021.
A rally that supported black lives and strong police oversight that asked Joe Biden’s incoming administration to focus on a “workers’ agenda” saw some of his fires tempered Monday after he left. explode a snowstorm.
The Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Utah Against Police Brutality organized 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, actions against climate change, immigration reform, ending the bailout for the rich and immediate relief for those who continue to have economic uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re here today because Joe Biden won the election and we need to lift the hell out,” an organizer named Adrian, who wouldn’t provide any last name, told the crowd. “We need to remind him that hundreds of people in the U.S., probably more, are out of work, on the street, asking for help.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Snow falls during a rally in the Salt Lake City federal building on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, January 18, 2021.
Following the violent uprising at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, organizers of Monday’s rally came prepared for possible clashes with counter-protesters. About 10 people wore bright yellow construction vests and acted as security guards.
“We moved it to today to avoid it with luck,” said Emma Fryer, an organizer who runs an information table at the rally. “We were going to do something on the day of the inauguration, but hoping to avoid clashes, we chose today. But I think things have calmed down a lot ”since the insurrection earlier this month.
Fryer added that on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. it was also an appropriate day to organize the rally, because “we are also here … to celebrate his mission and talk about the things he was fighting for.”
Attendees at the rally waved Black Lives Matter flags and contained posters calling for the rights of immigrants. They chanted family calls that were 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, undermined much of the crowd’s energy.
Adrian, who seemed to act as emcee of the event, led the crowd in a song that referred to the weather. “We are cold! We are wet! Cancel the debt! ”
A snowstorm moved within 30 minutes of the rally, leaving organizers sliding to cover the speakers and causing participants to gather under the porch of the federal building while uniformed police officers watched from inside. .
When the snow fell, a speaker named Jacari with Black Lives Matter North said, “Without justice, there will be no peace,” and Martin Luther King Jr. quoted: “Those who love peace must learn to organize. as efficiently as those who love war. “
The event ended at 5pm, an hour after it started, with no conflict. Organizers called off a planned march and caravan due to the cold.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Carl Moore leads a dam as snow falls during a rally at the Salt Lake City Federal Building on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, January 18, 2021.
To end the rally, Pandos indigenous activist and president Carl Moore said a prayer calling for protection from the cold and snow, free from oppression and food and shelter for those in need. He also called for the incoming president to be blessed.
But dozens of police officers and National Guard troops maintained a perimeter around the Utah Capitol. The Boogaloos called the joke the massive presence of law enforcement “joke” and teased officers from their lookout south of the Capitol entrance.
Police say increased security, which was called for after the FBI warned of possible violence over the weekend, helped ensure the small protest remained peaceful.