SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s capital city is amending its event permitting application process following the fatal shooting at a downtown protest in June.
The Salt Lake City Department of Public Lands’ Special Events office announced a new administrative rule Thursday that requires applicants to answer new security-related questions and provide points of contact for events, and the rule adds potential criminal charges for anyone who provides false information on their application.
Anyone planning to use security will also be required to submit their security plan to the city in advance, so that there can be coordination with the Salt Lake City Police Department. The new process will begin in 2026 as the city seeks to mitigate public safety concerns.
“Our city is one where our right to free speech and peaceful assembly is both celebrated and encouraged. The permitting process is not about reviewing an organizer’s message or purpose — it’s a way for the city to better understand what will occur on its streets and in its public spaces,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall in a statement. “These updates will strengthen that process and give the city clearer information to support public safety.”
The changes are in response to an order Mendenhall issued shortly after the fatal shooting at a “No Kings” protest on June 14, which called for an immediate review of the special permitting process.
Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, 39, a prominent local fashion designer, was shot and killed while scores of others who were marching in the area at the time fled for cover. An arrest was made, but formal charges have yet to be filed because of its legal complexity.
Salt Lake City police wrote in a court affidavit that Arturo Gamboa, 24, was carrying a rifle during the protest and began to “manipulate” it when two members of a volunteer “peacekeeping” group at the event called on him to drop the weapon.
Gamboa ran “toward the large crowd gathered on State Street holding the rifle in a firing position” when one of the two volunteers fired three shots, striking and injuring Gamboa, and fatally wounding Ah Loo, according to the affidavit.
Salt Lake City police filed its investigation with the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office last month without any recommended charges, leaving that in the hands of the district attorney’s office. The case is still under review.
“As with many investigations referred to the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office, there is follow-up work to be done. This continues to be an open case without any formal conclusions at this stage of the proceedings,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said on July 16.
Meanwhile, questions arose about the security at the event, which had been organized by the Salt Lake chapter of the 50501 Movement, protesting actions by President Donald Trump. Organizers were advised not to have their own security team, especially if they planned to protest at the Utah Capitol, according to emails KSL.com obtained through a public records request in July.
“If a ‘community volunteer’ were to take unlawful action against such a perceived trespasser under the mistaken belief that they had a right to do so — that community volunteer might very well find themselves being arrested by the (Utah Highway Patrol),” assistant attorney general Mike Kelley wrote in one of the emails.
Gov. Spencer Cox also said organizers had been warned against having armed “peacekeepers” months before the shooting, calling the shooting an “absolute tragedy.”
The national 50501 Movement dissociated itself from the local chapter following the shooting. Organizers, through their attorney, told the Utah News Dispatch in July that they weren’t aware of conversations with the Utah Department of Public Safety, and that the organization never requested or required safety and de-escalation volunteers to carry weapons.
“UHP advised us that individuals have a constitutional right to ‘open carry’ or to carry a concealed weapon, and Utah50501 could not lawfully prohibit anyone from doing so at our events,” organizers told the outlet.
The applicant for the June 14 protest did not disclose their plan for armed “peacekeepers,” and may have also submitted the application under an alias, Salt Lake City officials noted on Thursday. They believe the forthcoming changes will enhance the city’s permit process while still ensuring First Amendment protections are maintained.