ROCK SPRINGS — Sweetwater County residents protesting against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Thursday morning are disputing statements issued by Sweetwater County Sheriff John Grossnickle and the Rock Springs Police Department, saying the statements misrepresent the situation and allege Grossnickle is lying about the event.

People gathered at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel early Thursday morning after information spread that ICE agents had checked into the hotel the night before. Nine residents showed up, and according to several people in attendance, did not harass or impede the ICE agents, though many of them recorded videos of the agents. One person brought a cardboard sign to voice her opinion of ICE, with multiple people who spoke with SweetwaterNOW claiming the agents were laughing at the attention they received from the group, pointing to people as they laughed. Multiple people also told SweetwaterNOW that some of the agents photographed their vehicle license plates and disputed claims that they were blocking ICE agents from leaving the parking lot.

The RSPD issued a statement, saying officers were called to the hotel and claimed the protesters used their vehicles to block in the agents. The RSPD said officers assisted the agents in leaving the hotel parking lot, then resumed their duties.

Grossnickle issued a statement later condemning the group for their actions, saying the group attempted to “confront, follow, and harass federal law enforcement officers” at the hotel. Grossnickle said the group’s actions don’t represent how residents live, work, or do business in the state. He said the behavior was unacceptable.

“The First Amendment protects peaceful assembly and freedom of speech, and those rights matter,” Grossnickle said. “Respectful conversation, disagreement, and lawful recording in public are not the issue and are always protected. You cross the line when you engage in aggressive, coercive, or deceptive behavior intended to intimidate, harass, stalk, or interfere with law enforcement officers. Following officers to their hotel, or engaging in conduct that would cause a reasonable person to question their safety or your intent, may result in lawful contact by local law enforcement.”

What the sheriff’s office is doing is lying to people.

Megan Pope

Grossnickle’s statement and the RSPD’s allegation that protesters blocked the exit with their vehicle, are being challenged by residents at the protest.

“What the sheriff’s office is doing is lying to people,” Megan Pope of Green River told SweetwaterNOW.

Pope said the sheriff’s office didn’t show up to the hotel, saying the RSPD and Wyoming Highway Patrol did. Pope expressed concern that the sheriff’s office is lying because if protesters had broken the law, they would have been cited for the alleged violations by police. She said no one was threatening ICE agents. She also alleged RSPD officers followed protesters after they left the hotel. Pope shared a video showing armed ICE agents in front of the hotel’s lobby entrance preparing to leave in their vehicles, with an RSPD officer standing near those vehicles. The video, found below, shows the vehicles driving from the entrance and through the parking lot before ending.

Another protester, Susan Schmid of Rock Springs, said nobody was stalking the ICE agents at the hotel. She also questions what the line is between peaceful protest and the confrontation and harassment alleged by Grossnickle. Schmid also shared a video with SweetwaterNOW, which can be found below, showing ICE vehicles leaving the hotel with a WHP patrol vehicle escorting them out. In both videos, people are shouting at the agents, but do not approach them.

“He’s setting the tone of ‘us versus them,’ and that isn’t right,” Dana Ward, a protester from Rock Springs said. “People using their First Amendment rights are being called domestic terrorists by local and federal legislators.”

Ward admits Grossnickle didn’t explicitly refer to the group as domestic terrorists, but mentioned the rhetoric being used by Wyoming’s delegation in Washington, D.C. Ward said she’s concerned with ICE’s actions nationally and believes Grossnickle’s comments “draw a line in the sand” when it comes to protesting against ICE.

Multiple protesters disagreed with comments they parked to block the ICE agents from leaving, saying they were parked in parking stalls at the hotel. Both videos don’t show the parking lot being blocked off by protestors’ vehicles.

Elizabeth Payan of Rock Springs held a sign towards ICE at the hotel and believes Grossnickle’s statement characterizes her as threatening the agents.

“My weapon was a cardboard poster,” she said. “If that’s harassment, I’d like to know how.”

Respectful conversation, disagreement, and lawful recording in public are not the issue and are always protected. You cross the line when you engage in aggressive, coercive, or deceptive behavior intended to intimidate, harass, stalk, or interfere with law enforcement officers.

Sweetwater County Sheriff John Grossnickle

Another portion of Grossnickle’s statement one person disagrees with is his assertion that misinformation is circulating about claims of unlawful detentions, door-to-door immigration checks, and demands to see citizenship papers.

“Those claims do not reflect reality. We will always communicate as much as we can, whenever we can, while recognizing that operational or legal constraints sometimes limit what we can share,” Grossnickle said.

A woman speaking on condition of anonymity due to fears of retaliation from law enforcement told SweetwaterNOW when brown-skinned people are stopped by law enforcement, officers will ask citizenship-related questions and to see their documents. She alleges local law enforcement will question everyone riding in a vehicle about their citizenship status and if someone is unable to show the proper documents, they’re arrested. She further said law enforcement have used traffic stops for minor infractions as reasons to check a person’s residency status.

“It’s all lies,” Pope said.

Pope said she’s concerned with Grossnickle’s assertions, saying they put targets on the backs of people who voice their opinions about ICE. 

“They’re putting these ideas in people’s heads that we’re harassing and threatening these ICE agents when we were exercising our First Amendment rights,” Pope said.

Grossnickle’s full statement:

The RSPD’s full statement:

The following video is courtesy of Megan Pope (Contains mature language):

The following video is courtesy of Susan Schmid: