Updated Police on Saturday night busted a rave in Utah County, Utah, arresting 60 and, according to eyewitness accounts, committed various acts of brutality and violence against several people at the rave.
It was verified that more than 250 individuals were at the party, in violation or county statutes and by 11:30 pm law enforcement personnel moved in to curtail and disburse the party. During this process at least 60 arrests were made for weapons offenses, DUI, illegal underage consumption of alcohol, possession of marijuana, possession of cocaine, possession of methamphetamine, possession of ecstasy, distribution of ecstasy, resisting arrest, assault on a police officer, and disorderly conduct. — Utah County Sheriff
According to the sheriff’s department, the rave did not have the required mass gathering permit. Utah County requires a mass gathering permit and a bond for any assembly of over 250 people. According to eyewitness reports, well over 1,000 were in attendance.
Eyewitnesses report many instances of police brutality and unnecessary violence. One of the DJs at the event had this to say:
Last night, I was booked to play an event about an hour outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. The hype behind this show was huge, they presold 700 tickets and they expected up to 3,000 people total. The promoters did an amazing job with the show.. they even made slipmats with the flyers on them to promote in local shops.
So, we got to the show around 11:15 or so and it was really cool. It was all outdoors, in a valley surrounded by huge mountains. They had an amazing light show flashing on to a mountain behind the site, the sound was booming, the crowd was about 1500 people thick and everything just seemed too good to be true really. Well…
At about 11:30 or so, I was standing behind the stage talking with someone when I noticed a helicopter pulling over one of the mountain tops. I jokingly said “Oh look, here comes big brother” to the person I was with. I wasn’t far off.
The helicopter dipped lower and lower and started shining its lights on the crowd. I was kind of in awe and just sat and watched this thing circle us for a minute. As I looked back towards the crowd I saw a guy dressed in camoflauge walking by, toting an assault rifle. At this point, everyone was fully aware of what was going on . A few “troops” rushed the stage and cut the sound off and started yelling that everyone “get the fuck out of here or go to jail”. This is where it got really sticky.
No one resisted. That’s for sure. They had police dogs raiding the crowd of people and I saw a dog signal out a guy who obviously had some drugs on him. The soldiers attacked the guy (4 of them on 1), and kicked him a few times in the ribs and had their knees in his back and sides. As they were cuffing him, there was about 1000 kids trying to leave in the backdrop, peacefully. Next thing I know, A can of fucking TEAR GAS is launched into the crowd. People are running and screaming at this point. Girls are crying, guys are cussing… bad scene.
Now, this is all I saw with my own eyes, but I heard plenty of other accounts of the night. Now this isnt gossip I heard from some candy raver, these are instances cited straight out of the promoters mouth..
- One of the promoters friends (a very small female) was attacked by one of the police dogs. As she struggled to get away from it, the police tackled her. 3 grown men proceeded to KICK HER IN THE STOMACH.
- The police confiscated 3 video tapes in total. People were trying to document what was happening out there. The police saw one guy filming and ran after him, tackled him and his camera fell, and luckily.. his friend grabbed it and ran and got away. priceless footage. That’s not all though. Out of 1,500 people, there’s sure to be more footage.
- The police were rounding up the staff of the party and the main promoter went up to them with the permit for the show and said “here, I have the permit.” The police then said, “no you don’t” and ripped the permit out of his hand. Then, they put an assault rifle to his forehead and said “get the fuck out of here right now.”
More eyewitness reports are available, and a video of the first couple of minutes of the bust has surfaced. Several people in attendance reported having their cameras and mobile phones seized by police as they were attempting to record the bust.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
I had the unfortunate luck to spend two weeks in Provo, Utah, in 1991, and this sounds about right for the heavily Mormon county. Whether some of the people there were doing drugs or not, this is clearly an abuse of power, both on the part of the sheriff’s department, and on the part of the county, for requiring a “mass gathering” permit. It is not within the bounds of government to restrict the free, peaceful assembly of people. Or it’s not supposed to be, anyway. Here we see clearly what the police state is all about: not protecting our innocent teenagers from drugs, but protecting the government from people who dissent, or who just came to dance.
What country is this, anyway?
Update: More news coverage today from the Provo Daily Herald and the Salt Lake Tribune.
Update 2: Jason Ramsey commented over at Hit & Run that he contacted Utah County and discovered that the rave did indeed have the required mass gathering permit.
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works license.
Video published by this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Sampling+ license.
Bad Behavior has blocked 3480 access attempts in the last 7 days.
Facebook
Digg
del.icio.us
reddit.com
Newsvine
Howie
Aug 24, 2005
Combat Rock
Sheriff don’t like it. Rock Utah Rock Utah.
Aug 24, 2005
The Jawa Report
Aug 25, 2005
The news just keeps breaking - IO ERROR
Jack Doyle
Aug 25, 2005
Awww… too bad for those kids. boo hoo. Their illegal party got busted and most of them with illegal weapons and drugs. It surprises me that the cops showed up with weapons and dogs considering there were over 1,000 lawbreakers there, also armed with weapons apparently.
Michael Hampton
Aug 25, 2005
Jack, you must have missed something. It looks like the rave was perfectly legal. I dare you to find a group of 1,000 people anywhere in which there aren’t several people carrying drugs. Send in SWAT teams to raid the Capitol building and you’ll find a lot more than 60 people with drugs on them, for instance.
In any case, that’s one of the most anti-American sentiments I’ve ever seen posted on my site.
Here’s update 3 for you: both the party’s promoter and the owner of the farm on which it was held are filing lawsuits against the county for the illegal bust. Not that they arrested 60 people with drugs or underage drinking or whatever, but that they shut down a perfectly legal free association of people.
Go read that First Amendment again.
John
Aug 25, 2005
WOW! this isn’t acceptable, I hope someone gets in BIG trouble for this. That kind of force was not needed. And anyone who was misstreated, I hope they find some legal way to punish those who hurt them. I’m sorry this happened and it makes me ashamed to live in this country.
Michael Hampton
Aug 25, 2005
No need to be ashamed, John. We’ve got the best government money can buy.
Lone Star
Aug 26, 2005
They’re not police uniforms. They’re military uniforms. Military personnel are trained differently from police. Perhaps this was contrived as a training exercise. Do they have legal support in high places? Are the druggies going to stand up for their rights? Do they know their rights? Tradition from Posse Comitatus, 1878, says military are not used in America for law enforcement. Military busting down teenagers spinning records in Utah…What are they preparing for? The end of cheap oil?
Jon
Aug 28, 2005
This just goes to show the idiocy of our governmental bodies in the way of ignoring priorities and picking on its own citizens for things that have been going on for generations. In a world where terrorism runs rampant and corporate corruption ruins people’s livelihoods, we have a bunch of ‘tough guys’ raiding and assaulting peaceful party-goers just trying to mind their own business. Where were the raids for Woodstock? Where are the raids for ANY modern mainstream rock concert where half the people in attendance are hopped up on meth & coke and violently moshing into eachother?? And no need to mention it, these people would probably be too scared to raid a rap concert in the inner city where there really would be weapons, etc. to worry about. They are just like a cowardly predator only going for the easiest target. Apparently, just because it’s not their type of music, there is something horrible and taboo about it. I hope that ANY and EVERY person who was wrongfully harmed, along with the landowners and promoters, sue the fat collection plate right out of these assholes’ hands!!!
ps… Jack Doyle.. what type of ding-dong thinks that there would be 1000 people anywhere with guns & drugs running around? This isn’t Afghanistan idiot.
DJ EX4
Aug 29, 2005
This is in response to Jack Doyle’s comment stating
“Awww… too bad for those kids. boo hoo. Their illegal party got busted and most of them with illegal weapons and drugs. It surprises me that the cops showed up with weapons and dogs considering there were over 1,000 lawbreakers there, also armed with weapons apparently.”
Screw you Jack Doyle! I’ve been an avid party goer for many years and it’s straight up insulting and very laughable at the same time if you think a bunch of ravers are going to carry any type of weapon on them, and for what purpose would they have weapons anyway my friend? You’re such an idiot, why don’t you try going to rave and see how many people actually have drugs or are even on them, not to mention weapons. Candy Kids are the ones that are all hyped up on drugs and they are harmless as a fly, they are really friggin stupid but harmless. check out this definition if you are to stupid to know what a candy kid or candy raver is.
“Probably the most lovable and, simultaneously, most annoying kind of raver you will ever meet.
Candy ravers are not hard to find. They are characterized best by their brightly lit furry/fuzzy phat pants, oodles and oodles of bracelets and necklaces, and enough pre-school paraphernalia to be the envy of any 4-year old. They are generally nice, fun people, with childlike enthusiasm, but after awhile can be irritating (see Etard). Prolonged exposure to them is thus not recommended. “
dj blarin
Sep 01, 2005
ok has anybody else noticed that the bullets that were shown on the videos are for deer hunting? they are not even from hand guns,how man ravers cary hunting riffles around while dancing?i also have been a party goer for many years in very violent parts of oakland and did not see this from gang banger trying to steal from us! as a performer it does scare me to think if i get booked for a large party will i go to jail for playing records. not in america so i thought! dance events are very peacful for thew most part and if you tell kids to leave they almost always do with little trouble there is no reason for tear gas or assult weapons. if they treated my equipment the way they did there i would have resisted also they have no right to trash private property even if there are to many kids having a good time. i went to a rock concert last month and there was more drugs there and under age drinking than at raves!!! so you red neck ass cops i hope you burn for this! 1 word…constitution!
Lyndsy
Sep 15, 2005
What I don’t understand is if you are going to bust people for drugs and shit…fine go ahead.
But the police are busting the party and telling people to go home…..these are the same police who are giving out DUI? That doesn’t make sense………..The police are telling these kids to go home and so what are they to do when they have no one to call, their cell phones don’t work? I mean the police are suppose to be about saftey too you know…it is apart of their job.
If you work in a resturant, or a bar and you don’t cut off a client that is terribly drunk and something is to happen to that client, then the resturant and the individual who is serving that client is responsible. They, the police could have monitored the place and made sure that these kids where saftey….or allow them some sort of help…..like the police radio in for cabs….considering they have the means too.
I think it is bullshit they are putting kids at risk by telling them to go hom and then going into there car because that is all they have and then slap them with the DUI…..The listened to what the Cop was telling them….and the Cops do not provide these kids with any resources….and they probably think these kids are high and drunk and they derserve it…..well there are alot of good kids who are having fun and they way these Cops sterotype they should rethink how they treat ppl just because they are Cops they are ppl too……I am not saying all the kids are good just there are some and instead of sterotyping them, they shoudl help some of them out instead of busting and charging…..where did the serve and protect go? I am disgusted.
Sep 15, 2005
South will rise again: Gov. Blanco vows to rebuild New Orleans - IO ERROR
Syrix
May 21, 2006
Its interesting to see how free thinking scares the authorities in this country. “Getting tough on crime” is a sure way to win over the weak minded in an election year. Mandatory minimums for drug offenses let the gen-pop know how “serious” politicians are about crime. Ever notice how nice neighborhoods have the nicest traffic signals going in and out of them? That’s the same process that goes on when little susy comes home jacked up on _____(fill in the blank). One phone call from the right contributor and the police are “on the case”. Raiding a “rave” is the easiest way for politicians to dramatically make thier point…Its pretty simple…in order to throw good parties (free of nightclub owners, and dirty cops) we must go underground again. I’m gonna find me a warehouse, and get an attorney beforehand….Peace.
Cidkid
Feb 02, 2007
Theres always gotta be one person to make a complete ass of himself. Doyle heh. Seriously though I know people who lived in Utah and they say its mainly mormon with freakishly religious nazi-istic people, whom think anything that isnt like them is evil or fuckin’ wierd, and when you put assault rifles in their hands and show them where a rave is, thats just bad news. I’ts disgusting what they did, if it was a punk show and everyone started rioting like at british invasion in cali than I would understand.
Anonymous
Mar 16, 2007
Amen, Doyle! You tell ‘em!
Rako
Mar 27, 2007
According to the Salt Lake Tribune article “Weird Laws Clutter the Utah Code ” : Utah parents can give written permission to teachers to hit their children,” even though none of the public schools officially do it. (Dan Harrie and Judy Fahys, January 18, 1998)
The law was passed in 1992 and says:
“A school employee may not inflict or cause the infliction of corporal punishment upon a child who is receiving services from the school, unless written permission has been given by the student’s parent or guardian to do so.”
UTAH LAW 53A-11-802
In other words, who ever a child lives with- be it an adoptive parent, step-parent, or uncle- can tell teachers to hit the child with a thick board leaving redness and welts. The thick board is called a “paddle” and was invented to beat slaves.
Since the end of slavery in 1865 America’s schools and institutions have step by step abolished corporal punishment. Hundreds of global and US organizations like the United Nations, the US Parent and Teacher Association, and the National Association of State Boards of Education have passed resolutions against corporal punishment. They believe students have the same right to be protected from physical violence as do wives, animals, and criminals.
According to Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, “the LDS church has consistently discouraged this approach to child rearing. President Hinckley: “called physical abuse of children unnecessary, unjustified and indefensible.” He said: “I have never accepted the principle of ‘spare the rod and spoil the child.’ I am persuaded that violent fathers produce violent sons. Children don’t need beating. They need love and encouragement.” ()
5 years after the 1992 Utah law was passed, the Utah Senate tried to ban school beatings completely.
The Salt Lake City Tribune wrote an excellent editorial supporting the proposal. It explained that beating students in front of their peers “implies they are less worthy of respect, less human than those whose whose parents say “keep your hands off my child.”
“Hands Off Those Students,” 23 January 1997
But when the Senate sent the bill to the Utah House, the House disagreed and the bill died.
Now 10 years later the state Office of Education has a regulation against beating students but it does not override the law allowing beatings with guardian permission. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance stated in a 2006 report that while it is not practiced, some school districts “do not have a formal ban in place.”
While school staff may be under the impression that it is illegal, some districts are still printing handbooks saying teachers can beat students with permission.
For example, the Salt Lake Tribune reported that San Juan School District’s school board unanimously opposed the idea of ending school beatings. Its handbook states:
SAFE SCHOOLS POLICY
A school employee may not inflict or cause the infliction of corporal punishment upon a student who is receiving services from the school unless written permission has been given by the student’s parent or guardian to do so. This applies to students under the age of eighteen (18), or under the age of twenty three (23) if the student is receiving educational services as an individual with a disability.
How is beating students with thick wooden board part of a “Safe School?”
And safe for who? Teachers who can’t handle students criticizing them to their friends?
What kind of school lets guardians give permission to beat 22 year old disabled students?
Kane School District’s handbook has the same policy.
In 1984, 1 in 2000, (about 240) students in Utah were beaten according to completely optional government surveys. The number does not show the number of instances these students were beaten. Furthermore, the Office of Civil Rights considers the optional surveys to be a significant underestimate.
On top of the disgusting policies of public schools like San Juan and Kane, Utah’s law and State Board regulations have no effect on school beatings in private schools. In fact, the government does not collect statistics on hitting in private schools, so there is no way to know for sure whether it is being used.
Graduates from private boarding schools for American Indians remember “the ‘hotline’ in which the offending student was forced to walk a gauntlet of classmates wielding belts or sticks or hairbrushes.”
“The girls had to walk the gauntlet and get the backs of their legs switched, and if the switcher was too light on the switch, they had to do it hard. These girls had legs that were swollen three times their size”
(American Indians Describe School Beatings , By Matt Kelley, The Associated Press , April 24, 1999)
In 2006 SURVEY USA found that only a tiny minority – 15% – of Utah citizens supported corporal punishment in school. Why should their unfortunate children be humiliated in front of their protected classmates?
The poll’s results show that Utah legislators have a responsibility to enforce the will of the overwhelming majority of its citizens and free children once and for all from the threat of school beatings.
NOTES:
“Hands Off Those Students,” Salt Lake City Tribune, January 23 1997
Utah House Education Committee,
Representative Gregory H. Hughes, Chair
Republican – District 51
For the other members, click on Committee Membership:
ON THE CHURCH OF LATTER DAY SAINTS’ OPPOSITION TO CORPORAL PUNISHMENT:
On the Matter of Spanking by Glenn I. Latham ,
Joseph F Smith’s biography ,
Parenting the Lord’s Way by Allen Leigh ,
The Book of Mormon’s Opposition to Corporal Punisment , an essay ,
Anonymous
Dec 10, 2010
i went to a rave in utah get freaky 2010 and there were people poking wit hiv please spread the rumor i think i got poked i feel wierd but i dont knw how to tell my parents please spread the rumor because there is a lot of kids and people that dont know that they were infected but i dont know if i got either but for percuation im scared.
Anonymous
Jan 11, 2011
So what does the first amendment have to do with the County Sheriff? Absolutely nothing. It refers to congress and the local sheriff is responding with a power reserved for the state. You are using the wrong argument here.
The Equalizer
Jun 25, 2011
cops, who have taken and sworn an oath to protect and uphold our rights as citizens are usually the only ones who are often times violating those same rights. not to mention the crimes they also perpetuate against citizens. cops are out of control in this country. its time to shut them down and put their criminal police enterprises out of business.