Utah Rave Update

Sploid reports that Jason Ramsey (of Reason magazine) spoke with Utah officials to verify the existence of the permit for the rave. He writes:

"I spoke directly with Jay Stone who handles the Mass Gathering permits for the Utah County Health Department’s Bureau of Environmental Health Services, and he stated unequivocably that the permit was applied for and granted by his department.

He also agreed to write a letter to this effect upon request. The questions about whether or not the permit was issued should be answered and not up for dispute.

I am currently attempting to reach the Utah County Board of Commissioners to resolve whether or not an additional permit would have been required by their office. Initial conversations with ‘Michelle’ at their office seemed to indicate that this was not the case."

So it's possible that the "no permit" justification for the raid may not hold water. Coupled with the fact that many of the drugs the raid produced had already been confiscated by security guards (who apparently did not have the legal authority to hold them), and I'd say that the matter at least deserves further looking into.

Here's some more coverage. And here. And here. Oh, and the Salt Lake Tribune implicity confirms that Alisha Matagi was the girl thrown to the ground in the video.

Rob