SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, July 10, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced Wednesday that a felony charge has been filed against Frank Demcy Mylar for a bribe he allegedly offered while he was running for the Republican nomination for Utah Attorney General.
“On April 19, 2024, the defendant sent a text message to Trent Christensen offering him a job at the Utah Attorney General’s Office if he endorsed Mr. Mylar,” a Salt Lake County DA’s office statement says.
“The defendant later texted Mr. Christensen asking him to disregard the previous text. Mr. Christensen later reported the text to law enforcement. The defendant is charged with one count of third-degree felony bribery in elections.”
Charging documents note that Christensen was also a candidate. Current Utah AG Sean Reyes announced last year he would not run for the position.
“Christensen reported that the defendant, Frank Demcy Mylar, had sent him a text message soliciting Christensen’s endorsement in the election, and offering Christensen a job in the Utah Attorney General’s Office in return, should Mylar win the election and become the Attorney General.
“Christensen showed officers the text, which indicated that it was sent on April 19, 2024 at 8:03 a.m. and read ‘Hey Trent. In my last day of trial and by God’s grace my campaign has picked up more steam…. If you could endorse me before the convention I would definitely include you in my office. Think about it for a few days. Thx. Good luck today.’
“Christensen did not respond to the text message, and at 2:21 p.m. on April 19 Mylar sent another text to Christensen that read ‘Please disregard that text. I’m internal. Didn’t mean to send it. Sorry to bother you. It is not an offer etc. hope you are feeling better.’ Mylar sent two more texts apologizing and indicating that he believed Christensen had withdrawn from the Attorney General race at that time.”
Gill released a prepared statement on the case.
“We appreciate Mr. Christensen coming forward with the information about this alleged crime in a timely manner to law enforcement,” Gill said. “We also appreciate the Murray Police Department for conducting a thorough investigation.”
The statement noted that “All persons accused of wrongdoing are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.”
Mylar came in third in the attorney general Republican primary race. Official election results will be available on July 22, but Derek Brown is believed to have won 43% of the vote and is expected to face Democratic candidate Rudy Bautista in the November general election.
