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The Utah Attorney General’s Office is issuing a child abuse and human trafficking awareness campaign, which it had planned for Saturday in Salt Lake City, after questions were asked about one of the event’s organizers.
The agency announced the decision Friday night, just over 12 hours before the Freedom for the Children event was scheduled to begin, calling “questions about association with other human trafficking events being held on the same day.” It said the event would not take place for “several weeks” to “avoid public confusion with unassociated agents and political causes.”
The office had promoted the event, which included a march and a roster of speakers, earlier Friday on its social media platforms.
On Twitter, it posted, “Join us to raise awareness for human trafficking and child exploitation tomorrow at 9AM in Liberty Park in SLC. Our office will engage speakers in highlighting trauma-informed recovery, legislation, role maintenance roles, resources, and stories of survivors. “
But less than two hours after the tweet, the bureau received questions and answers, apparently trying to separate the event from the Save the Children movement, which linked recent news reports to QAnon, a far-right – and unsubstantiated – collusion theory .
The agency said the event did not join that group, but another with a similar name and cause.
‘We got some questions about the event. This event is separate and NOT related to the group Save the Children. It’s with Freedom for the Children. While Save the Children has the same events that are happening on the same day, we and this event are not part of that movement, ”reads the tweet.
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, who has served since 2013, has put an end to human trafficking’s signature problem. His office held a similar event with the group Operation Underground Railroad on June 30, the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.
The agency said Saturday’s event was a partnership between the AG’s office and reputable groups such as 3Strands Global Foundation, members of the Utah Trafficking in Persons Task Force, government officials, nonprofits and citizens.
“Upon receiving further information, including careful investigation into citizen input, event organizers determined that there were too many questions about one of the partners,” according to the statement.
