Latisha Afraid of Hawk was filling up her car with her sister at the gas station attached to the Smith’s near 9th and 9th when she was approached by a man asking if they wanted to sign a petition to keep U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents out of Utah.
Afraid of Hawk, who is Mnicouju Lakota Sioux, had seen coverage of the clashes with ICE agents in Minnesota and reports of how ICE had arrested and detained several members of the Lakota Nation, so both were eager to sign.
That’s when Elijah Kimbal, who was also getting gas, saw what was happening and asked the sisters if they knew they’d signed the Republican-backed petition to repeal Utah’s ban on partisan gerrymandering of political districts.
“I was actually like, no, I didn’t, and I said, ‘Can I get my signature back?’” Afraid of Hawk said in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune.
Kimball said the signature gatherer “got flustered and just kind of mumbled and got uncomfortable” when he was confronted, “and turned around and just ran to his car really quick.”
Afraid of Hawk and her sister followed him to the car and demanded he remove their signatures. She said the gatherer agreed to scribble out her sister’s name, and did, but refused to scribble out her name.
“He said, ‘No, I’m not scribbling it out,” she recalled, so she reached into the car, grabbed the signature packet and ripped out the page.
After that, Kimball said the signature gatherer “screeched out of there” and sped away. Kimball said he got a photo of the car, which had a Nevada license plate.
The signature gatherer later reported the incident to Salt Lake City Police, who took the report, but the case has been closed because the gatherer did not want to pursue charges, a department spokesperson said Friday.
“To find out they’re out here misleading people … that’s what really made me upset,” said Afraid of Hawk, who added that her cousin had been convinced to sign the petition, as well, by a signature gatherer using the same anti-ICE pitch.
Afraid of Hawk’s encounter is one of a growing number of cases where clashes between signature gatherers and those opposed to the efforts to repeal the gerrymandering ban have been reported to police.
After months of collecting support, Republicans have two weeks left to gather more than half the needed signatures to put the initiative to voters this fall.
Utah Republican Party Chair Rob Axson did not respond to requests for comment on the signature gatherers.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Opposition volunteers encourage voters not to support an initiative to repeal Prop 4 at the University of Utah campus on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.
Attacks from both sides
In American Fork, police were called last week after a woman acted like she wanted to sign, then tried to take the signature gatherer’s petition packet. When he tried to take it back, the woman struck him in the head and scratched his arm, according to police records.
The woman was arrested and charged Tuesday with assault, property damage and refusing to identify herself to police, according to court records.
In Centerville, a signature gatherer reported that a woman who acted like she wanted to sign the petition began cursing at him, according to a police report. In Salt Lake City, signature gatherers said someone took a stack of petition packets and ran off when they weren’t looking, according to police.
“These reported attacks on signature gatherers are unacceptable,” Gov. Spencer Cox posted on social media Friday. “Utahns can disagree strongly about politics, but we resolve those disagreements peacefully and with respect for the rule of law.”
But the hostility and altercations have, at times, resulted from signature gatherers’ anger with individuals whose aim is to make sure that voters don’t sign the petitions — or at least make an informed choice. And this has led to retaliation by the gatherers, who have gone as far as threatening the lives of Utahns.
A loose network of activists supporting the ban on gerrymandering has formed the Brave Utahns Rapid Response Network, or BURRN. Regional groups share the locations of signature gatherers across the state and turn out with “Decline to Sign” placards and offer a counterargument for those being approached to sign the GOP’s petitions.
“It really is the ultimate definition of grassroots,” said Sarah McConkie, one of the BURRN organizers. “We’ve now got cities all over, from St. George to Brigham City. … Considering we built this thing from scratch in mid-December, we’re pretty proud of it.”
BURRN registered a political issues committee with the lieutenant governor’s office this month, enabling it to take donations to print signs and materials about how voters can remove their names from the petitions.
McConkie said the volunteers are trained to keep their calm, act with kindness and respect and not to be abusive or confrontational. They stand near the gatherers, and if the voter approaching the signature gatherer has questions, the signs held by the BURNN volunteer have a QR code where the voter can read the text of the initiative.
But, she said, volunteers often report that signature gatherers are hostile, or even violent. At least twice this month, police were called to confrontations at the University of Utah and Utah State University.
One involved McConkie, who said she drove to Logan on Jan. 13 after getting word that paid signature gatherers were on USU’s campus. Few people were signing up the petition McConkie and several others around, so, she said, the gathered decided to leave the area.
McConkie followed one, holding her sign and filming, when the gatherer stopped, turned to her and said, “Do you like breathing air?”
McConkie, according to a video in a police report obtained by a public records request, said she didn’t understand, and the signature gatherer replied: “Oxygen. It’s a yes or no question. Do you like breathing oxygen?”
She considered that a threat and asked to see the gatherer’s identification, but he walked away. McConkie reported the interaction to USU police.
Officers identified the signature gatherer, who, according to the police report, admitted to making the statement, but told police he did not consider it a threat. Prosecutors declined to file charges in the incident.
A similar encounter occurred that same week when BURRN member Chandler Adair was holding a sign near a group of signature gatherers at the University of Utah with two other people.
Adair said if people wanted to sign, he left them alone to do it, but if people had questions about the initiative, he encouraged them to scan the barcode and read the initiative’s language before signing.
Charlies Miller, a University of Utah student, said he was standing with the BURRN group and could tell the signature gatherers were getting frustrated that they weren’t getting any signatures.
One of the signature gatherers snapped, Adair told The Tribune, said “F--- your barcode” and snatched the sign from his hands, ripped it up and left.
University police have confirmed responding to the alleged altercation, but denied an open records request for the police report, saying it could impede an ongoing investigation.
“My whole experience with these guys has been really concerning,” Adair said. “Not only do they lie to people almost every single interaction, they’re weaponizing the police force to intimidate. I can’t tell you the names I’ve been called.”
‘I’ll read what I’m signing’
A spokesperson for the lieutenant governor’s office, which oversees state elections, said they’ve received about 55 emails and phone calls from individuals complaining about signature gatherers’ tactics. When they receive complaints, they ask for additional information about when and where the incidents occurred and forward them to the initiative sponsors and discuss how they can address concerns and comply with the law.
“The sponsors have expressed frustrations that people are also acting aggressively toward the gatherers, including yelling at them and trying to bait them into verbal conflict while recording them,” the lieutenant governor’s office said in the statement. “No matter which side of the issue people are on, we encourage all to be respectful, even in the face of a disagreement.”
Republicans who organized the group Utahns for Representative Government are in the final weeks of their signature-gathering effort. Recently, they’ve been buoyed by pleas from President Donald Trump and Sen. Mike Lee aiming to help them reach the goal of 140,748 signatures statewide to put the repeal on the November ballot.
As of Friday, county clerks had validated 65,401 signatures submitted by URG, putting them 46.5% of the way to their target. But they also have to get signatures from 8% of voters in at least 26 of the state’s 29 state Senate districts. On Friday, they had reached that milestone in two districts.
It is possible, however, that URG is holding back signatures until the Feb. 15 deadline for submission. State law only requires that the signature packets be submitted to clerks within 30 days of the first voter signing the packet.
Individuals who feel like they were tricked into signing the petitions or otherwise want their names removed can submit a form to their county clerk asking to withdraw their support.
Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman said earlier this week her office had received 220 such requests and have been seeing people more and more frequently. Weber County Clerk Ricky Hatch said they have received 30 requests to remove signatures, plus 10 more from voters outside his county.
Afraid of Hawk said she has learned an important lesson from her encounter.
“Next time I just won’t take their word for it,” she said. “I’ll read what I’m signing.”