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Thirteen LGBT activists facing misdemeanor charges for disturbing a legislative meeting as they rallied to support an anti-discrimination bill vow to fight the charges.
Attorney Danielle Hawkes, who represents five of the 13 defendants, said Monday after a hearing in Salt Lake City Justice Court that the group intends to go to trial. She said the group will appear in court again at a Dec. 22 scheduling hearing, at which time a trial date could be set.
The men and women who call themselves the Capitol 13 have each pleaded not guilty to a single count of disrupting a meeting, a class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.
The group was arrested at the Utah State Capitol in February after a day-long sit-in to protest a decision by state lawmakers not to consider legislation that would have made it illegal to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people in matters of employment and housing.
Legislators said they didn't want to consider the bill while the state was also fighting a federal court ruling that legalized gay marriage in the state.
Similar bills had been proposed in each of the past five years and either failed to get enough committee votes to advance or pulled before getting a hearing.
The protesters include Matthew Anderson Conway, 26; Kevin Scott Garner, 31; Steven Randall Germann, 22; Jacob Joseph Hanson, 27; Angela Jo Isaacs, 34; Matthew James Landis, 44; Orlando Luna, 20; Gail Ellen Murdock, 61; Justin James Trent, 24; Michelle Turpin, 51; Gail Mildred Turpin, 69; Troy Williams, 44; and Donna Gonzalez Weinholtz, 59.
— Tribune reporter Jessica MIller contributed to this story.