This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A YouTube video touting three Republican congressional candidates contains unauthorized use of footage of Occupy SLC protests that took place last fall.
Interspersed with clips of Sen. Orrin Hatch and Rep. Rob Bishop making self-deprecating remarks are Hatch challenger Tim Aalders, Bishop opponents Joe Fabiano and Jacqueline Smith, and several clips of Occupiers taking to the streets and Utah's Capitol Hill.
Reached by phone Wednesday morning, Fabiano, a 77-year-old businessman from South Jordan and self-described Constitutionalist, said he had not seen the video and was unaware of its contents.
But Thomas Alvord, a recent law school graduate doing political consulting for Fabiano, said his videographer put the video together and posted it to YouTube without his knowledge.
"He produced the video for himself, not for the campaign," Alvord said. "As far as the candidates promoting the Occupy movement, that's not what they're trying to do."
Salt Lake City resident Yami Shogun said he compiled the video from footage he shot himself, adding that he personally had been profoundly inspired by the march that launched Occupy SLC in October. But he also said he's been deeply disillusioned by Congress and the political status quo.
The three candidates in the video get little media attention or campaign cash, Shogun said.
"I am just this one little guy with a camera and the Internet," Shogun said, "and what you see there just comes from my heart."
In a phone interview Wednesday, 46-year-old Aalders, who considers himself a "Cleon Skousen Constitutionalist," said he also was unaware of the video's contents but acknowledged that Occupy Wall Street had some valid points concerning the big-bank bailouts.
"They were youth getting involved, and I disagree with how some got involved, but it's good that they've awakened to see how their futures are in jeopardy," said Aalders, a morning talk-show host on KTKK 630AM.
Smith, 47, of Wanship, who also considers herself a Constitutionalist, said Wednesday she had not heard about or seen the video.
"I felt like the Occupy Wall Street movement had some good ideas, but it was misdirected," Smith said, voicing her own support for capitalism — but not crony capitalism.
Jesse Fruhwirth, a former reporter who has been active with Occupy SLC since its start last fall, chuckled over some of the mixed messages in the video that showed protesters who are marching with raised fists, carrying "End the Fed" and pro-union signs among moms marching for clean air.
Fruhwirth emailed Aalders to complain about the use of Occupy images in the five-minute film.
"I'll be spreading the word throughout the Occupy Salt Lake community that a video promoting your candidacy misappropriates footage of our march to make it look as if those protesters are your supporters or that you are somehow running for office on our behalf or something," Fruhwirth wrote.
Occupy Wall Street does not endorse candidates or affiliate itself with any political party, he said. The email to Aalders called for removal of the video, which was, nevertheless, "really well-produced," Fruhwirth added.
"Civil unrest and protest is so rare that they have to take our video," Fruhwirth said by phone Wednesday.
Alvord discovered Wednesday that the video had been posted on at least five different channels and said it had been removed from the sites under the campaign's control.
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