On June 14, many people gathered in front of Union Station to march and listen to speeches in protest of the Trump administration and recent ICE arrests.
Many of the speeches given were to show solidarity and express support for those affected by the current administration and arrests that are being performed by ICE. One of the speeches was given by previous Ogden mayoral candidate Taylor Knuth, who spoke on how the current mayoral administration is handling these arrests.
“I was here to remind Ogdenites that in May of 2017, the Ogden City Council promised Ogden City that they would respect the boundaries between the role of Ogden police officers and ICE. They even went as far as saying that it wasn’t their role to interfere in enforcing federal policies on immigration,” Knuth said. “Now, almost 10 years later, they’ve quietly been working for the last year to house inmates in the Weber County Jail to even talking about using the jail on Kiesel (Avenue) for a facility for permanent detention. This is happening right here in Ogden. They’re breaking their promises.”
The march started shortly after the speeches ended and went from Union Station on Wall Avenue down 25th Street until Washington Boulevard where it turned North and continued that direction until it reached the Ogden sign.
While marching, protesters held their signs and began to share chants throughout the procession. The chants ranged from “We are peaceful” to “Make peace, not war” with call-and-answer chants like “Whose streets? Our streets” and “Show me what democracy/community looks like … This is what democracy/community looks like.”
After the march ended at the Ogden sign, people lined the sidewalk facing the roads but shortly dispersed afterwards.
Some of the protesters held homemade signs while roadside, facing the cars driving by and chanting things like “Down with dictators, no kings,” or “No kings since 1776.” Passing cars honked to show their support for the protestors with some holding a tightened fist in the air out the window in support of the protest’s message.
Other participants showed support by providing water and snacks free of cost.
“People are too good. They’ve been asking to tip. I’m like, ‘Don’t do that. This is my contribution to humanity,’” supporter Kenedy Kane said. “I feel like there’s a lot of other stuff you can do, but sometimes it’s the simple things.”
