Tag: utah

Crazed gunman in custody after shooting during ‘No Kings’ march in Salt Lake City left one person critically injured

A crazed gunman was taken into custody Saturday night after allegedly opening fire on thousands of protesters in Utah during a “No Kings” march that left one person critically injured, police said.

The terrifying incident unfolded around 8 p.m. near South State Street in Salt Lake City, sending a crowd of more than 10,000 people running for their lives as gunshots rang out, according to local reports.

The wounded victim reportedly collapsed at the chaotic scene, where he received emergency treatment, before being rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, Salt Lake City police said. 

“The shooting at tonight’s protest in Salt Lake City is a deeply troubling act of violence and has no place in our public square,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said on X. 

“This is an active situation, and we’re working closely with law enforcement to ensure accountability.”

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Supreme Court Unanimously Agrees To Curb Environmental Red Tape That Slows Down Construction Projects

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Utah railroad project on Thursday, setting a precedent that could make it easier to build things in the United States. 

The case at hand—Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County—involved an 88-mile-long railroad track in an oil-rich and rural area of Utah. The project would have connected this area to the national rail network, making it easier and more efficient to transport crude oil extracted in the region to refineries in Gulf Coast states. 

In 2020, a group of seven Utah counties known as the Seven Counties Infrastructure Coalition submitted its application to the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) for the project. During its review process, the board conducted six public meetings and collected over 1,900 comments to produce an environmental impact statement (EIS)—which is required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)—that spanned over 3,600 pages. The board approved the project’s construction in 2021.

Before construction could begin, however, Eagle County, Colorado, and several environmental groups filed suit, challenging the STB’s approval. Specifically, this coalition argued that the STB did not consider the downstream environmental effects of the project—such as increased oil drilling in Utah and refining in the Gulf Coast. The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agreed with the plaintiffs and vacated the railroad’s construction approval. 

In an 8–0 decision on Thursday (Justice Neil Gorsuch recused himself from the case), the Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s ruling. 

In its majority opinion, authored by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the Court clarified that under NEPA the STB “did not need to evaluate potential environmental impacts of the separate upstream and downstream projects.” The Court concluded that the “proper judicial approach for NEPA cases is straightforward: Courts should review an agency’s EIS to check that it addresses the environmental effects of the project at hand. The EIS need not address the effects of separate projects.”

This statement “is particularly significant for infrastructure projects, such as pipelines or transmission lines, and should help reduce NEPA’s burdens (at least at the margins),” wrote Jonathan Adler, a law professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, in The Volokh Conspiracy. “The opinion will also likely hamper any future efforts, perhaps by Democratic administrations, to expand or restore more fulsome (and burdensome) NEPA requirements.”

One recent example is former President Joe Biden, who finalized rules requiring federal agencies to consider a project’s impacts on climate change—a global issue that is incredibly complex and hard to forecast—in their NEPA analyses. The Trump administration recently rescinded this requirement. 

Kavanaugh’s opinion also clarified that courts should “afford substantial deference” to federal agencies in their EIS reviews and “should not micromanage” agency choices “so long as they fall within a broad zone of reasonableness.” 

This point could reduce one of the largest delays caused by NEPA: litigation. Since its passage in 1969, NEPA has been weaponized by environmental groups to stunt disfavored projects—which has disproportionately impacted clean energy projects. On average, these challenges delay a permitted project’s start time by 4.2 years, according to The Breakthrough Institute.

The increased threat of litigation has forced federal agencies to better cover their bases, leading to longer and more expensive environmental reviews. With courts deferring more to agency decisions, litigation could be settled more quickly.  

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Utah House Speaker demands state judge resign for giving no prison time to man convicted of child exploitation

After spending just four months in jail, a judge said that a 22-year-old man in Utah will not be given any more time behind bars after he was convicted of exploiting children, with Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz calling on him to resign.

Aidan Hoffman, 22, attended a sentencing hearing overseen by Judge Don Torgerson on Tuesday in Utah, where he pleaded guilty on two felony counts of sexually exploiting a minor, according to KSLTV. Court documents in the case said that Hoffman had distributed as well as had in his possession images of children getting raped and sexually abused.

Hoffman was charged last August on multiple felony counts of exploiting a minor and spent four months in prison, being allowed out in December on certain conditions. However, during the sentencing this week, Torgerson dropped 10 of the other felony charges, only going through with two of them. Instead of giving Hoffman time behind bars, Torgerson decided that he would not go to prison or pay any fine.

Torgerson handed the 22-year-old a suspended prison sentence and said he would be placed on probation for four years, meaning that he would only go to prison if he violated the probation. During the hearing, Torgerson referred to the time that Hoffman spent in jail, saying, “112 days is a lot of jail time. It’s a lot of jail time for someone your age who comes from some level of privilege.”

When speaking to The Post Millennial, House Speaker Mike Schultz, a Republican from Utah’s 12th House district, said he would not rule out impeachment over the matter, and demanded that the judge resign.

“This is deeply troubling and indicative of a broader pattern within the judiciary. Such decisions not only fail to deliver justice for victims but also erode public confidence in the legal system,” he told TPM. “Judge Torgerson’s decision is a failure of justice, and it cannot be ignored. To restore public trust and uphold the integrity of the judiciary, he must resign. Accountability is not optional—it is essential when the stakes involve the safety and dignity of children.”

Torgerson viewed a couple of the videos that were in possession of Hoffman and told those in the hearing he had “seen worse.”

The Grand County Attorney, Stephen Stocks, said that he was shocked by the decision of the judge, as well as Torgerson’s mention of “privilege” in the decision and the comments about the videos.

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Charges filed against Utah man accused of abusing his teen ‘spouse’

Criminal charges have been filed against a 29-year-old Midvale man accused of sexually assaulting and beating a pregnant teenager to whom he was allegedly “married.”

The man was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with four counts of unlawful sexual conduct, a third-degree felony, and assault of a pregnant woman, a class A misdemeanor. KSL.com is not naming the man to protect the identity of the victim.

The investigation began on May 13 when a 17-year-old girl, who is six weeks pregnant, reported being assaulted by a 29-year-old man. The girl lives with the man “as a religious spouse,” according to a police booking affidavit.

The girl, who is still in high school, “disclosed she had been in an arranged marriage since January 2024, when she was just shy of her 16th birthday,” the affidavit states. However, Unified police stated in the arrest report that “the marriage was completed through the Muslim religion but is not a legally recognized marriage.”

The girl revealed that she started having sexual intercourse with the man daily after they were “married.”

On the night of May 12, the two got into an argument, and the man “lunged at her and started hitting and kicking her. The victim believes she was hit and kicked by (him) at least 40-50 times,” according to the affidavit.

Police noted the girl had a “large golf ball-sized” bump on the side of her head and bruises on her forearms.

When the man was questioned by police, he “made no mention of having a current spouse or girlfriend,” the affidavit states.

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Utah Oil Tycoon James Jensen and Wife Arrested in $300M Mexican Oil Smuggling Scheme — Feds Raid $9.2M Mansion with Battering Ram

Federal agents have arrested Utah oil magnate James Lael Jensen, his wife Kelly Anne Jensen, and two of their sons, Maxwell Sterling Jensen (aka “Max”) and Zachary Golden Jensen, in connection with a sprawling $300 MILLION smuggling and money laundering conspiracy tied to Mexican criminal organizations.

Court records reveal that all four members of the Jensen family were arrested on Wednesday, April 23 — with sons Max and Zachary taken into custody in the Rio Grande Valley, while James and Kelly Jensen were apprehended at their 26,893-square-foot mansion in Sandy, Utah, reportedly worth over $9.1 million.

The arrest was carried out by the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Apprehension Team, equipped with a battering ram and tactical gear, according to KSLTV.

“James Jensen conspired with his wife, Kelly Jensen, and two of his sons, Maxwell and Zachary Jensen, to launder proceeds from sales of illegally imported crude oil,” a warrant filed for James Jensen’s arrest states.

“The payments for this crude oil were directed to businesses in Mexico that operate only through the permission of Mexican criminal organization. James Jensen was aware that the payments he made were going to these Mexican criminal organizations.”

According to KRGV, ” Federal court records say that they have been ordered to report to the Brownsville federal courthouse by Thursday, May 8, where their sons have already made their initial court appearance.”

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Two State Capitals Adopt LGBT Flags as Official City Flags in Bid to Circumvent Law

“Cutting off your nose to spite your face” is a metaphorical expression.

I’m not letting most of you, our infinitely wise readership, at home in on this self-evident fact. Instead, this is more of a public service announcement to the family, friends, and co-workers of those employed or elected by the cities of Boise, Idaho, and Salt Lake City, Utah: Keep sharp objects away from these people for the next few weeks or anytime you hear someone saying something about their visage. Thank me later.

I mention this because, within hours of each other, lawmakers in both state capitals, 330 miles away, passed laws that made the LGBT rainbow “pride” flag and other flags official city flags in order to sidestep state laws that would have barred the display of such flags.

According to KSL-TV in Salt Lake City, “[t]he new flags would add the sego lily logo from Salt Lake City’s city flag to the Juneteenth, Progress Pride and transgender flags” in order to make them official city flags, essentially a move to sidestep a bill that would ban flying most flags that were not the official national, state, city, or school flags.

BoiseDev reported a similar reasoning behind the move “retroactively designating the Pride flag and the Donate Life flag, commemorating April as Donate Life Month, honoring the benefits of organ donation, as official flags of the City of Boise. This puts these two flags alongside the traditional blue City of Boise flag featuring the Idaho State Capitol as official flags of the city’s government.”

“This move comes after weeks of tension over [the mayor’s] decision to continue flying the Progress Pride flag in front of city hall in defiance of HB 96 brought by Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard.

“That bill, passed in the 2025 legislative session, restricted the flags local governments in Idaho can fly to a specific list of flags, including the United States flag, the State of Idaho flag, official city flags, the POW/MIA flag, branches of the U.S. military, Indian tribal flags, flags for colleges, universities or public schools and the flags of other nations for special occasions.”

Now, it’s worth mentioning that, when conservatives protested against the universal protection for killing babies in the womb and for same-sex marriage, the Supreme Court miraculously discovered in the Constitution — we were reminded that we were one nation and should respect the law of that nation — “penumbras” and “emanations” conveniently located in a vaguely written amendment, which originally dealt with the aftermath of the Civil War but is now used as a cudgel for every left-wing cause that cannot pass muster at the ballot box.

Now, two states have passed perfectly legal and clear laws about what flags may be displayed, a clear shot across the bow of liberal locales that put rainbow or transgender flags atop poles across the city for “pride” month, often overshadowing or ignoring the flag of the nation or state and alienating the electorate.

Very well, Boise and Salt Lake City are saying after the massive backlash: We’re going to make symbols of enforced acceptance of sexual deviance official city flags because nyahhhh!

“The feedback we have gotten since we ventured into this space has been overwhelming from local Boiseans in support of this because we know that’s not just a flag. We know it says who we are, and we know that this bill was about just one flag,” Boise Mayor Lauren McLean said.

“We now have three official flags in this city in response to this bill, but most importantly, that action demonstrates who we are, the values we hold, our commitment to those seen and unseen to show you are welcome and wanted here.”

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A Win For Medical Autonomy: Utah Becomes First State To Ban Fluoride In Drinking Water

The Utah legislature passed and sent a bill that bans local governments from adding fluoride to public drinking water to Governor Cox’s desk. The governor intends to sign the bill. The Utah Dental Association opposes the ban and is calling on the governor to veto it.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drinking fluoridated water reduces cavities in both adults and children by 25 percent. The US Department of Health and Human Services advises an “optimal concentration” of 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water (0.7 ppm). Levels exceeding 4.0 ppm may lead to dental and skeletal fluorosis, resulting in mottled tooth enamel and brittle bones.

While 0.7 ppm of fluoride in the water supply is safe, dentists do not recommend fluoride supplements for children under six months of age. Recent studies have associated high levels of fluoride ingestion with reduced IQ in children.

In 1901, a Colorado dentist named Frederick McKay discovered that fluoride was associated with reduced tooth decay. In 1945, Grand Rapids, MI, became the first municipality to add it to its public drinking water. By the 1960s, fluoridated water had become widespread throughout the country.

Nowadays, people can obtain fluoride to prevent tooth decay in many other forms. Consumers can purchase bottled water containing fluoride, over-the-counter mouthwashes containing fluoride, and fluoride varnish from dentists and, in some states, pharmacists. Dentists can also prescribe fluoride supplements. And, of course, many toothpaste products contain fluoride.

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Majority Of Utah Voters Support Legalizing Marijuana, Poll Finds As GOP Leader Downplays Reform Prospects

A majority of Utah voters support legalizing adult-use marijuana in the state, according to a new poll.

The survey from Noble Predictive Insights, which was commissioned by the nonprofit Keep Utah Medical, found that 52 percent of registered Utah voters would support a ballot initiative to end cannabis prohibition, while 38 percent would oppose it.

Support for legalization was highest among Democrats (76 percent), followed by independents (61 percent) and Republicans (41 percent).

“YES wins the left and the middle and divides the right. In a red state like Utah, that’s enough to get to a solid—though not overwhelming—margin of victory,” the polling firm said in a memo.

“Over the last decade, major political victories came from a populist-traditionalist coalition: The GOP’s wings would coalesce, form a majority together, and govern. If legalization were to win, the coalition would be built from left to right—a progressive minority joining with the center and Republican moderates. This is possible—but it requires careful execution.”

Alex Iorg, co-founder of Keep Utah Medical, told ABC4 that while the results of the poll indicate that an adult-use measure could also narrowly pass, the organization is not currently planning to lead such a proposal.

“I believe the majority now support recreational use because they see it as an easier option [than] Utah’s current medical program,” he said.

“We need to make the medical program easier to navigate. Rural, disabled, and other patients need telemedicine just like [they] can do for other medications,” he said. “Out-of-state recreational dispensaries have more advertising rights than Utah in-state medical pharmacies. We have to level the playfield.”

Here’s the text of the survey question posed to voters: 

“Currently, medical marijuana is legal in Utah, but some Utahns still obtain marijuana illegally for medical and recreational purposes. Would you support or oppose a ballot initiative that legalized marijuana for all purposes—including recreational use?”

The survey involved interviews with 609 registered Utah voters from March 11-13, with a +/- 3.97 percentage point margin of error.

Asked about the prospect of advancing adult-use legalization in Utah, House Speaker Mike Schultz (R) said he has a “huge problem with turning Utah into a recreational state.”

“It’s not going to happen,” he said.

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Judge who allegedly had a relationship with an accused child predator and let him out on bail is now accused of similar crimes

A Utah judge was put on unpaid leave after police accused him of committing several sex crimes involving children. The next day, a former fire chief from the same locality was charged with similar crimes. But court documents revealed an even deeper connection between the two men.

According to court documents obtained by KSL, a local NBC affiliate, Ned Brady Hansen, 54, was charged on Tuesday with eight counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor. When Hansen was first arrested on Jan. 27 — when he was still Tremonton’s fire chief — investigators working his case asked a judge to hold him in custody without bail due to the nature of his alleged crimes.

That judge, Kevin Christensen, 64, let Hansen go free.

On Monday, Christensen was charged with seven felony sex crimes involving children and obstructing justice. And according to an affidavit for Hansen’s arrest, the two men had been engaged in a “sexual relationship,” KSL reported.

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Utah GOP to End Universal Mail-In Voting, Moves to Restore Election Integrity

Utah Republicans are making a stand for election security, passing legislation that will dramatically change how mail-in ballots are handled in the state. The GOP-controlled Legislature has approved legislation that would end universal mail-in voting and implement stronger voter identification requirements. The bill now awaits the signature of Republican Governor Spencer Cox, who has already signaled his support.

For years, Utah has been one of the few Republican-led states that embraced universal mail-in voting, which automatically sends ballots to every registered voter. But amid growing concerns about election integrity, particularly from voters who have watched election chaos unfold in other states, Utah lawmakers are taking action to tighten security measures and stop potential absentee ballot fraud.

Eight states and Washington, D.C., allow all elections to be conducted entirely by mail: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Washington state.

Five Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing the bill, which passed with veto-proof margins in the House and fell one vote short of a veto-proof majority in the Senate.

Democrat State Sen. Nate Blouin was quoted by the Associated Press as saying Republicans were “conspiracy thinking” around election security.

Under the new Utah law, voters who wish to receive mail-in ballots must opt-in, rather than having ballots sent to them automatically. This represents a major shift from the current system, which many critics argue is vulnerable to fraud and manipulation. Additionally, the bill strengthens voter ID requirements, requiring anyone returning a ballot by mail or drop box to provide the last four digits of their driver’s license, state ID, or Social Security number.

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