SALT LAKE CITY — A criminal charge was filed Friday against a Lehi man arrested while protesting the purchase of a Salt Lake warehouse by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Chase Taylor Fredrickson, 18, is charged in 3rd District Court with rioting, a third-degree felony.
On March 18, an estimated 500 people gathered in front of a warehouse at 6020 W. 300 South to protest the purchase of the facility by ICE, which plans to turn the building into a detention facility. ICE had purchased the 24.9-acre parcel a week earlier, according to property records. In a statement to KSL, ICE said it's planning a "very well-structured detention facility meeting our regular detention standards."
Many of the hundreds who gathered outside the facility displayed signs with statements such as, "Out of Utah," "An ICE detention center does not represent Utah family values," "ICE out," and "Resist," among others.
As the protest wound down, several people clashed with police.
Fredrickson and a 17-year-old, "along with several other unidentified people, had been throwing rocks at the facility during the protest, breaking several windows and causing between $3,000 and $9,000 in damage," according to charging documents.
Agents inside the building "recorded Fredrickson and others throwing rocks," the charges state.
At least two others, both under 18, were also arrested that day, according to police. It was not immediately known Friday if they also face charges in juvenile court.
