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PANGUITCH — A California woman who was charged with a hate crime in southern Utah for crumpling up a pro-police sign will have her charges dismissed after her letter of apology is determined to be "acceptable" and a fine is paid.
A plea deal has been reached in the case of 20-year-old Lauren Nicole Gibson, whose encounter with a Garfield County sheriff's deputy over a year ago made international headlines.
Gibson was traveling with friends through Panguitch on July 7, 2021, when one of her friends was pulled over for speeding. After the friend was issued a ticket, Gibson grabbed a "Back the Blue" sign that was posted nearby.
"I observed one of the friends … stomping on a 'Back the Blue' sign next to where the traffic stop was conducted, crumple it up in a destructive manner and throw it into a trash can all while smirking in an intimidating manner toward me," the deputy who made the arrest wrote in a police booking affidavit.
The deputy then confronted Gibson and placed her under arrest.
"Due to (Gibson) destroying property that did not belong to her in a manner to attempt to intimidate law enforcement, I placed her under arrest," the deputy wrote, adding that she was then booked into the Garfield County Jail. "Due to the demeanor displayed by (Gibson) in attempts to intimidate law enforcement while destroying a pro law enforcement sign, the allegations are being treated as a hate crime enhanced allegation."
After her arrest received widespread attention, including articles in the Washington Post and the Daily Beast, Garfield County Sheriff James D. Perkins issued a prepared statement five days later defending his deputy, stating that Gibson's "unpeaceful" actions "showed extremely aggressive and violent behavior" toward the deputy in "a very busy parking lot."
"Ms. Gibson caused a public disturbance and purposely targeted the officer in a very unpeaceful manner," the sheriff said. "The simple fact is, while this officer was doing his duty in a proactive and compassionate manner, he was singled out and attacked by this person because he was a law enforcement officer."
He suggested the case be "treated as a hate crime enhanced allegation" because of the "demeanor displayed by Gibson in attempts to intimidate law enforcement while destroying a pro law enforcement sign."
Gibson was charged in 6th District Court with criminal mischief. The charge was filed with a hate crime enhancement, making it a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. She was also charged with disorderly conduct, an infraction.
The charges prompted a response from the American Civil Liberties Union, saying the organization was "extremely troubled and disappointed" with the filing, contending that Utah's hate crimes statute was not intended to be used for situations like this.
"This kind of charging decision sends an extremely chilling message to the community that the government will seek harsher punishment for people charged with crimes who disagree with police actions. This concern is even greater because we do not view the enhancement as supportable under the language of the statute," the ACLU said.
Court documents filed Tuesday indicate that a plea agreement was reached earlier this month in Gibson's case.
Gibson pleaded guilty to the criminal mischief charge in exchange for the disorderly conduct charge being dismissed. According to her plea, Gibson acknowledged that she crumpled up, stomped on, and then threw away a "Back the Blue" sign to "intimidate (and be disrespectful) to the law enforcement officer that was present when I engaged in these acts."
Her guilty plea will be held in abeyance, however, and the criminal mischief charge will be dismissed — which includes a sentence of two days in jail — once she completes the other terms and conditions of her plea deal.
Under terms of the plea bargain, Gibson was required to write a "sincere and heartfelt letter of apology" to deputy Cree Carter, "expressing remorse for treating (and threatening by actions) a law enforcement officer with disrespect."
Once there is an "acceptance of the apology" by Carter or by the Garfield County Attorney's Office, the jail time will be suspended. Once a $400 fine is paid and the apology letter is considered "acceptable" by the attorney's office, the case will be dismissed, according to the 6th District Court documents.
Gibson's letter of apology was also filed in court Tuesday. In it, she states that she understands why her actions would be considered offensive or threatening.
"With the current discourse surrounding the treatment of law enforcement, the display of disrespect that I showed was immature. After reflecting over the past two months, I would like to apologize and share my gratitude for the work that police officers do every day. I am constantly working to improve upon thinking before I act and the consequences of said actions upon others. I hope you can see that I do care about what I did," Gibson wrote.
