Nine of the people recently charged with vandalism after throwing paint at the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office are no longer facing potential life sentences after mediation results in reduced charges against the protestors. The parties were ordered to attempt mediation by the Salt Lake County DA. Retired Judge Dane Nolan acted as a mediator and oversaw the process. The majority of details of the mediation sessions remained private, as is the norm in the mediation process. Had mediation failed, parties would have continued facing the original charges.

Protestors who participated in the mediation saw their sentences drop from five years to live in prison to five years or less if convicted. The legal process will proceed as expected, now with the lesser charges.

Mediation became an option after Gill was criticized for putting those accused of vandalism at risk for excessive punishments. He also applied a gang enhancement to the charges.

Estimates show the damage caused by those involved in the vandalism cost approximately
$200,000 to clean up and repair. It included gallons of paint spread on the building and several large windows were broken. The damage occurred during a July 9^th protest and came after Gill announced the fatal shooting of an armed suspect was justified. The protests began shortly after the announcement and eventually escalated into police declaring the events like riots. Some of the people present at the protest had altercations with police officers, one of which occurred right outside of the DA’s office.

Charges include:

• Criminal mischief
• Rioting
• Assault