SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah, March 14, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A South Salt Lake city councilman was arrested Wednesday after police say he was trespassing when trying to enter City Hall while banned from the building.
Paul Stephen Sanchez, 44, was censured March 6 by the South Salt Lake City Council over social media posts that were critical of elected city officials, including Mayor Cherie Wood.
A week later, Sanchez was attempting to enter City Hall, 220 E. Morris Ave., when he was met by South Salt Lake police and given a written notice of trespass, according to a probable cause statement filed in South Salt Lake Justice Court.
Police say Sanchez stated that officers would “have to arrest him as he was not going to leave,” according to the statement. “[Sanchez] was taken into custody without incident.”
The City Council’s censure of Sanchez called for his resignation and included the requirement that he participate in meetings remotely.
Sanchez was booked in the Salt Lake County jail for investigation of criminal trespass, a class B misdemeanor.
“You may be able to censure me, but you cannot censor me,” Sanchez wrote in a social media post March 7. “Word is out in South Salt Lake. Mayor Cherie Woods [sic] supports and endorses white supremacy, including colluding with the City Council to cover up criminal behavior, and unethically managing city funds, which is costing taxpayers more every year.”
