Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Herriman residents have organized a counterprotest in response to an anti-immigrant demonstration in the city last week.
- The event, meant to "celebrate our diverse community," is set for Saturday.
- The demonstration and counterdemonstration come amid heightened debate about immigration.
HERRIMAN — After an unexpected demonstration last week by a group of apparent white nationalists in Herriman, Erin Weist sprung into action.
"It seemed to be a really unwelcome visit by the majority of people here," she said.
She started calling around, found others who were similarly outraged and started planning a counterprotest — set for Saturday — to send a different message.
"We're hoping that people will come and put whatever politics or social views we have aside and realize that we are all neighbors and that we can love and support each other," Weist said.
Saturday's event, meant to "celebrate our diverse community," according to flyers, starts at 10 a.m. and will be held outside Herriman City Hall, the same place a contingent of masked demonstrators marched a week ago with an anti-immigrant message. Those demonstrators carried a sign that read, "Deport Invaders/Keep America American" and identified them as members of Patriot Front, labeled a white supremacist group by the Anti-Defamation League.
"They were just there, they marched and they dissipated," said Nicole Peterson, another Herriman resident who's helping promote Saturday's counterprotest. She didn't see the Patriot Front gathering but understands it lasted around 15 minutes and that afterward, the participants piled into a rental truck and left.
The demonstration and counterdemonstration come amid heightened debate about immigration and increased efforts by the new administration of President Donald Trump to detain and deport immigrants in the country illegally, particularly those with criminal records. But while immigration is a polarizing topic, Peterson said last week's incident spurred a measure of unity — even some who back Trump's crackdown were critical of the clandestine group's appearance.
"The majority of the reactions were pretty strong, people just shocked and appalled," she said. "People saying, 'Show your face, at the very least, if you're ... going to be in our community.'"
The quick demonstration also prompted a rebuke from Herriman Mayor Lorin Palmer and the Democratic leaders of the Utah House and Senate, Sen. Luz Escamilla and Rep. Angela Romero.
"Our residents possess a wide array of political ideologies, but there is at least one thing that is universally embraced — hatred is not a part of who we are. Every member of our community has value, and we stand by each other," Herriman wrote in a message.
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Voces de Utah
Looking for more news from Utah's Latino community? Visit our Voces de Utah section for more stories, events and features.Escamilla and Romero called the Patriot Front appearance an "anti-American, hate-fueled" rally. "This demonstration specifically targeted vulnerable communities, including our immigrant community. ... We will continue to fight harmful rhetoric and not allow for hate to define our state," they said in a joint statement.
Both Peterson and Weist are hoping to convey a message of reassurance with Saturday's planned counterdemonstration.
The goal of organizers is to assure "anyone who is scared or feeling insecure" that there are "more people who love and support them than that tiny little group of men in masks," Peterson said.
