Upcoming ‘No Kings’ protest in SLC will not include march, safety measures taken

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — More ‘No Kings’ protests are scheduled across the state and country on Saturday, and the Salt Lake City event has canceled the march portion of the event in light of the deadly shooting at the June 14 event.

Another national day of ‘No Kings’ protests is scheduled for Saturday, October 18, following a similar day of protest in June. Emotions in Salt Lake City have been running high after Afa Ah Loo was fatally shot at the June 14 ‘No Kings’ protest at Pioneer Park.

In response, and in order to ensure the safety of the community, the march portion of the Salt Lake City event on October 18 has been cancelled, and the event will simply be a rally at the Utah State Capitol.

This event is organized by a different group than those who did the Pioneer Park event on June 14, where the shooting happened. This team organized the other ‘No Kings’ event that took place earlier in the day on June 14 at the University of Utah, which was a peaceful event.

Jamie Carter, one of the organizers, told ABC4, “Community safety is our number one focus, and we want Saturday to be a day of community gathering.”

They are expecting over 10,000 people to attend on Saturday, and Carter said they do not feel like they have enough staff for a march.

Additionally, the march would have past the location where Ah Loo was shot, and according to Carter, emotions in the community were high. Based on the feedback and feelings from the community, they decided to cancel the march.

Additional safety measures

Salt Lake Indivisible, one of the organizations behind Saturday’s event, posted on social media about some of the safety measures being taken at this event. In the post, they emphasized that this is a peaceful event and requested everyone to leave all weapons at home, including those that are legally allowed.

They also stated that their volunteers completed de-escalation and protest safety training and that all volunteers “committed to leaving weapons at home.”

The June shooting happened when a volunteer ‘peacekeeper’ opened fire after spotting a protestor carrying a rifle, so they are encouraging attendees and volunteers to leave weapons at home, even though it is their right to open carry a weapon in the state of Utah.

Reportedly, Utah Highway Patrol is also going to be at the Capitol on Saturday, and there will be trained medical professionals on site to provide first aid resources.

Salt Lake Indivisible also encouraged anyone planning to attend the rally to complete a virtual training hosted by the ACLU on Wednesday.

The ‘No Kings’ rally in Salt Lake City will be October 18 at 11 a.m. at the Utah State Capitol, and it will feature speakers, music performances, and a comedy act. You can learn more about the No Kings movement here.

Amelia Hobson contributed to this reporting.