SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 29, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake City is overhauling its event permitting process following the fatal June 14 shooting at the “No Kings” protest downtown, Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced Thursday.
The updated process, set to take effect in 2026, is aimed at improving public safety, minimizing neighborhood impacts and ensuring protections for free speech and peaceful assembly, according to Mendenhall’s news release.
“Our city is one where our right to free speech and peaceful assembly is both celebrated and encouraged,” Mendenhall said. “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. These updates will strengthen that process and give the city clearer information to support public safety.”
Mendenhall ordered an immediate review of the city’s special event permitting after the “No Kings” shooting, which killed demonstrator Arthur “Afa” Ah Loo, a renowned local fashion designer, and wounded 24-year-old attendee Arturo Gamboa, who had brought a rifle to the protest and was allegedly shot by an armed security volunteer.
Gamboa was taken into custody after the shooting and later released while the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office continues screening possible charges. The armed volunteer who allegedly fired the shot was not taken into custody but is also under investigation.
The city said the review found that “the individual applicant failed to disclose their plans to use armed ‘peacekeepers’ and may have submitted the application under an alias.”
Under the new changes, event organizers will have to provide a day-of-event contact person, answer new security-related questions and sign a declaration that their application is truthful. Submitting false information could result in criminal charges.
If organizers plan to use security, they also will be required to submit a security plan in advance for coordination with the Salt Lake City Police Department.
Photo: Gephardt Daily / Patrick Benedict
