Letter: Can port protesters get a fair trial?
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Protesters in front of the Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City on Tuesday Nov. 26, 2019. The Salt Lake County district attorney’s office filed charges last month against 10 people in 3rd District Court accusing them of starting a riot in the lobby of the Salt Lake Chamber offices in July after a protest over the inland port turned into a violent confrontation with police. All 10 face a charge of rioting, a third-degree felony with a possible sentence of one to 15 years. Nine of them face a charge of criminal trespass, a Class B misdemeanor. The protestors have their first court appearance on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. and are planning a rally beforehand.
The popular governor of Utah has declared the Inland Port 21 protesters to be “borderline terrorists.”
As they face trial in Salt Lake City on Feb. 7 we must ask ourselves if they can receive justice in this state after the governor has already declared them to be guilty. How can we achieve climate justice when we cannot even treat our own brave citizens justly?
Please, District Attorney Sim Gill, dismiss the charges. Let us move beyond petty recriminations and strive to make our world more, not less just.
Kevin Jones, Pleasant View, Colo.
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