This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Tribune recently ran a story about business owner Scott Eckersley, who claims his reputation has been damaged after he was charged in Wasatch County with felony commercial terrorism for throwing away stacks of brochures placed by a business rival at a Midway resort where he owns a room.
Eckersley threw away the brochures after they continued to show up in the lobby, and his HOA representative confirmed the business did not have permission to place them there.
He was charged by Wasatch County prosecutors with several felonies, including the terrorism charge, and later consented to a plea agreement and two misdemeanor charges.
He said he has lost business clients because of the "terrorist" label.
If only he had been a Republican elected office holder and, better yet, a Republican prosecutor, he might have escaped all that trouble.
His actions were not dissimilar to those of former Salt Lake County District Attorney Neal Gunnarson in 1997. But there were no consequences for Gunnarson's actions.
He was district attorney when Salt Lake City Weekly ran an unflattering story about him and he showed his displeasure by taking a stack of the free newspapers off a rack in front of a restaurant in Midvale and throwing them away.
After the Utah Attorney General's Office declined to investigate City Weekly's complaint against Gunnarson, a group of prosecutors declined to prosecute because they said there was no clear-cut evidence of damages to the newspaper, since it was distributed for free.
Just like the brochures Eckersley dumped.
Interestingly, a month after Gunnarson, who later went to work for the attorney general's office, walked away unscathed from the newspaper-trashing incident, Joe Salazar was vigorously prosecuted in Park City for taking a stack of Magic Nickel Ads, a competitor of his, from a rack and putting them in his truck.
The papers he took were distributed for free, just like City Weekly. But Salazar wasn't an elected official. He, like Eckersley, was just a regular guy.
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Words have consequences • Thanks to some controversial comments made by a Utah County lawmaker last legislative session, there is extra motivation for hundreds of women who plan to march, scantily dressed, along State Street and up Capitol Hill on Saturday.
The fifth annual Salt Lake City SlutWalk will convene at 1 p.m. at Salt Lake City Hall where marchers will walk to the Capitol and hold a rally for women's rights against sexual violence until 4 p.m.
Organizers are highlighting comments made by state Rep. Brian Greene, R-Pleasant Grove, in response to a bill clarifying that having sex with an unconscious person is rape because that person cannot give consent.
"If an individual has sex with their wife while she is unconscious ... a prosecutor could then charge that spouse with rape, theoretically," said Greene. "That makes sense in a first date scenario, but to me, not where people have a history of years of sexual activity."
Greene made the comment during House debate on HB74, sponsored by state Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City." He later apologized after a strong backlash on social media.
Tiffany Thorne, spokeswoman for SlutWalk, said the event usually attracks 300 to 400 marchers. Each year, the group highlights particular offensive comments or events to educate people about sexual violence.
During the rally, organizers will announce a new program, Sexual Assault Survivor Community Advocacy Training, in partnership with the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault, to encourage survivors of sexual violence and allies to become more involved in the coming legislative session.
SlutWalk began in Toronto after a member of the Toronto police told students at York University concerned about a series of sexual assaults on campus that "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized."
Students offended by the comment organized the walk with the goal of eliminating victim-blaming. The walk went viral on social media and now is an annual event in cities throughout the world.
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Competing voices of Riesen • Former TV news anchor Phil Riesen seems to have dueling personalities when it comes to this year's Salt Lake City mayor's race.
Riesen provides the voice on candidate Jackie Biskupski's latest television ad. But he also provides the voice on Mayor Ralph Becker's "Blueprint Man" ad that can be seen on YouTube and was blast-emailed to a number of Salt Lake City constituents recently.
That ad was produced in 2007, the first time Becker ran for mayor. Riesen has asked that it be removed, since he is supporting Biskupski this year.