Standing on the steps of Salt Lake City Hall, Jakey Sala Siolo told a crowd of more than a thousand that he was tired. He was angry.<\/p>\n
He has family in Minneapolis, he said, and his sister\u2019s workplace is on the street where Renee Good was killed by federal immigration agents earlier this month.<\/p>\n
\u201cHearing these stories directly from those on the ground has been devastating,\u201d said Siolo, director of NuaNua Collective, a group that advocates for LGBTQ+ Pacific Islanders. \u201cBut I\u2019m still paying attention.\u201d<\/p>\n
The justice the crowd seeks, he warned, will take work beyond Friday\u2019s protests.<\/p>\n
Utahns had gathered at City Hall before marching as part of a \u201cNational Shutdown<\/a>,\u201d organized to protest the Trump administration\u2019s crackdown on immigration and the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.<\/p>\n Their agents killed Silverio Villegas Gonz\u00e1lez in a Chicago suburb<\/a> in September, Keith \u201cPooter\u201d Porter Jr. in Los Angeles<\/a> on New Year\u2019s Eve, and Good<\/a> and Alex Pretti<\/a> less than a month apart in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n In cities across the state on Friday, from Ogden to St. George, business owners closed their doors<\/a> and students walked out of classes<\/a> in support of the national effort. More events were planned for Saturday across the state.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Protesters packed into Washington Square in Salt Lake City before the downtown march began, standing shoulder-to-shoulder and filling much of the park\u2019s west side. They held signs and shouted chants including \u201cPower to the people, no one is illegal,\u201d and, \u201cNo justice, no peace, we want ICE off our streets.\u201d<\/p>\n Passing motorists honked their horns. A banner hanging from City Hall read \u201cSLC [loves] YOU\u201d while signs in the windows proclaimed \u201cThis is your home.\u201d Community members doled out hand warmers, freshly baked cookies, coffee, apple cider and water.<\/p>\n Standing on the sidewalk near State Street, Randi Hardy spoke from inside a pink blow-up axolotl costume and waved at passing cars. She said she\u2019d seen \u2014 and heard \u2014 a lot of support from passersby.<\/p>\n (Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) People attend an anti-ICE protest at City Hall in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.<\/p>\n (Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) People attend an anti-ICE protest at City Hall in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.<\/p>\n \u201dI think we need to stop killing people in the streets. The federal government needs to be held accountable to what they\u2019re doing,” she said, \u201cand the camaraderie in the community that we have here is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a mild, sunny winter day, and condensation collected in the small window that showed Hardy\u2019s face, but she said it was important for her to dress this way. The costume was for \u201cvisibility\u201d and to show onlookers that protesters aren\u2019t scary or \u201cout of control,\u201d she said. At least three others sporting pink axolotl costumes were spotted, as was a green frog wearing a crown and cape, carrying a sign.<\/p>\n Annie Omer, a nurse, held a sign at the Salt Lake City protest that read: \u201cNurses for Alex Pretti.\u201d She said she has been \u201cfilled with sorrow and rage about everything that\u2019s been happening.\u201d As a nurse, Pretti\u2019s killing \u201chit close to home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t take it anymore,\u201d Omer said, \u201cand I want us to stand up for what is right. We can overcome what is happening if enough of us get out and show our rage and support and anger in the streets.\u201d<\/p>\n The Trump administration has said that its immigration policies make the country safer. The operations have \u201cresulted in countless dangerous criminal illegals being removed from the streets \u2014 including rapists, murderers, burglars, drunk drivers,\u201d White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement earlier this week.<\/p>\n On the march <\/p>\n Sue Widdison joined Friday\u2019s protest from Millcreek and mused that recent events have seemed relentless.<\/p>\n \u201cA sign that I saw last year said, \u2018Too much s— for one sign,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cAnd it really feels like that, because you get your sign made, you get up in the morning and it\u2019s totally outdated. Something else has happened.\u201d<\/p>\n On Friday, she held several signs. One, affixed to the back of her hat with paper clips, displayed a bullseye. It read, \u201cUnpaid Target.\u201d<\/p>\n (Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) People attend an anti-ICE protest at City Hall in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.<\/p>\n (Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) People attend an anti-ICE protest at City Hall in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.<\/p>\n Utah groups listed as supporters on the national organizing site included the Salt Lake Community Bail Fund, Peoples\u2019 Freedom Party Utah, Organization of Utahn Young Adult Activists and the Utah Valley University Chapter of the American Federation of Teachers\/American Association of University Professors.<\/p>\n Protester Autumn Blaustein-Olfen said \u201csomething has to be done.\u201d She said she hopes politicians will see the crowds and \u201cthink, \u2018Wow, OK, they want us to put a stop to what ICE is doing to immigrants.\u2019\u201d She hopes the number of protesters will inspire more people to action \u201cbecause there\u2019s enough people doing it now, that there\u2019s no reason to hide.\u201d<\/p>\n Blaustein-Olfen and other protesters in Utah\u2019s capital began marching at about 3:15 p.m. toward the local field office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services along 200 East, between 600 South and 700 South.<\/p>\n They stopped in front of the building for several minutes, filling the street and overflowing into the adjacent building\u2019s courtyard, climbing trees and concrete ledges to get a better view. They chanted, while speakers continued to address the crowd from the middle of the road. <\/p>\n From there, demonstrators marched to 700 South before turning on State Street and heading back to Washington Square Park. Salt Lake City police officers followed the route, blocking traffic for the marchers, and reminding them at least once over a loudspeaker from a black van to stay on one side of the road. <\/p>\n The crowd began dispersing from Washington Square park shortly before 4:30 p.m. Some time later, four protesters were arrested for failure to disperse because they were blocking traffic nearby, a Salt Lake City police spokesperson said.<\/p>\n (Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)<\/p>\n Striking out in St. George <\/p>\n In St. George, around 40 people gathered downtown on the corner of Main Street and St. George Boulevard to protest. Drivers honked their horns as they passed, and the occasional driver yelled \u201cgo back to California\u201d out their window.<\/p>\n Attendees ranged from local retirees to tourists taking time out of their vacation to protest. They held signs that said, \u201cICE out\u201d and \u201cThe wrong ice is melting\u201d while wearing shorts and T-shirts on a warm southwest Utah day.<\/p>\n Marie Straka was visiting from Minnesota, a state that has been a focal point of the Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown. \u201cI was involved in protesting at home in Minnesota,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot easier here.\u201d<\/p>\n She showed up to protest during her vacation because she wants immigrants to be protected, she added.<\/p>\n (Brooke Larsen | The Salt Lake Tribune) A woman holds a sign during a protest against ICE and federal immigration policies in downtown St. George on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.<\/p>\n Peter Dowdle, a student at Southern Utah University, drove down to St. George for the protest from Cedar City.<\/p>\n \u201cLetting people in communities like this know that they\u2019re not alone in their dislike of what the government is doing right now, I think that is the best support I can do from some random rural town in Utah,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u2018Love thy neighbor\u2019 <\/p>\n Before the Salt Lake City march began, drag performer Divina 2.0 had stood on the steps of City Hall steps in four-inch heels, a zebra-print dress and a voluminous blonde wig. She urged the community to come together in all of its diversity.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, we all want and need the same things: we are human, we are all connected, we are love, and we are strong,\u201d Divina said. \u201dI\u2019m gonna take it back to my Mormon missionary roots, but I want to give you three simple words: love thy neighbor.\u201d<\/p>\n Siolo reminded protesters that 2026 is an election year, and urged voters to elect candidates who will \u201cstand ten toes down on abolishing ICE.\u201d <\/p>\n But he told the crowd that power is not built through the electoral system. It\u2019s built, he said, on the streets, by the people. \u201cThere is power,\u201d Siolo said, \u201cin us being here together.\u201d<\/p>\n He also urged listeners to \u201cnot let your fight stop here today. Today is not about making cute, witty f\u2014-ing posters and signs. It\u2019s not an excuse to call out of work,” he said. <\/p>\n \u201cToday is a vow, a statement, a dedication \u2014 or a covenant, for the Mormons in the crowd \u2014 to dedicate our lives to building people power.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Standing on the steps of Salt Lake City Hall, Jakey Sala Siolo told a crowd of more than…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":555444,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[100106,5410,409,50,1809,4218,67,132,68,2969,424],"class_list":["post-555443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","category-us","tag-catpj","tag-ice","tag-immigration","tag-news","tag-protest","tag-salt-lake-city","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-utah"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115987733888832296","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555443\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}