Group organizing downtown SLC rally wants Utah economy to reopen immediately

SALT LAKE CITY – More than 100 people have announced they will attend the “Salt Lake City Safe Business Rally / Revival” event in downtown Salt Lake City on Saturday night.

The rally is organized by Eric Moutsos, who launched the Utah Business Revival Facebook Group.

“It’s more of a message to say, ‘Hey look, we can do it and we can do it safe and we can do it efficiently and we can open Utah immediately,” “he said. .

When it comes to reopening everything, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said they were working as fast as they could but had to put health and safety first. She cautioned anyone considering going to the rally on Saturday to understand the risks.

“The demonstration scheduled for tomorrow is a violation of our order. We don’t know exactly where it will land, but local law enforcement should be aware of it. They haven’t announced where, but I would like to warn that mass gatherings are our biggest enemy, they are our biggest enemy, ”she said.

Moutsos believes the Salt Lake County stay-at-home order, which includes the mandatory closure of certain businesses, is unconstitutional. He says if people can shop in grocery stores, all businesses should reopen.

“We’re still going to have a virus and we’re going to have the effects of a broken economy and we can’t do it. So the common sense approach is if we can do it at Costco, we can do it in all businesses and we can be safe about it, ”he said.

Governor Gary Herbert announced a plan to reopen parts of Utah‘s economy that have been significantly affected by COVID-19 on Friday. For more information on the diet, Click here.

While Moutsos has said he understands the threat of the virus is very real, he believes the economy needs to be reopened immediately.

“Not being able to provide for your family, in my opinion, food for your family, not being able to provide, is a health crisis more serious than any virus on any planet”, did he declare.

But now is not the time for a rally, Mayor Wilson said.

“From what I’ve heard, they are pushing for social distancing, but a rally is a rally is a mass rally and it is prohibited,” she said.

A spokesperson for the Salt Lake City Police Department said he was aware of the event and did not plan to take any action unless absolutely necessary. Their goal is to educate people about social distancing, as law enforcement has said since the first stay-at-home order was put in place.

The group encourages social distancing at the event. Everyone is encouraged to grab take out at a local restaurant and get together for a picnic, Moutsos said.

From Friday evening, the Facebook event for the rally showed more than 150 people saying they will be attending and nearly 500 more saying they are interested.

The rally location was announced Saturday afternoon: the Salt Lake City County Building from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Additional instructions for those who wish to attend: