- Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall described her fear during a 2025 stalking incident.
- Jason Rogers was sentenced to 60 days in jail for making online threats against Mendenhall and her family.
- The case highlights the rising dangers of political violence, a judge and prosecutor said.
FARMINGTON — Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said she'll never forget the worst Mother's Day of her life.
She and her family had fled their home for a hotel at the advice of Salt Lake police, as the agency had deemed online threats made against her and her family by a Farmington man were "legitimate and immediate." She and her husband told their kids the hotel was part of surprise plans for the weekend to hide the real reason.
Nothing happened that weekend, but the fear lingered. Then, later that month, police barged into her office and warned her that the man behind those threats — Jason Guy Rogers — was standing outside the Salt Lake City-County Building.
Mendenhall was aware of one last post he had made on social media, stating it was "time for action." She peered out of a small opening in her office window in City Hall and saw Rogers. He appeared to be tense, with his fists at his side as he looked up at the building, she recalled.
She was stunned that he was there and immediately felt fear for others in the building at the time.
"Threats of political violence had never been so real for me," she told a courtroom, as Rogers was sentenced for stalking earlier this month.
"This was not a person in an isolated moment of rage. This is a man who, over multiple days and multiple times, publicly stated that my family and I needed to be killed," she said, according to a recording of the sentencing hearing. "He asked anyone, anyone to kill my family and me upon sight. He publicly asked for our address to do so. He then came to City Hall to take action on the political violence he had repeatedly called for."
Rogers, 45, was sentenced to 60 days in jail and ordered to never contact Mendenhall or her family again, the latter of which he agreed to as part of pleading guilty to stalking in December.
Mendenhall declined KSL's requests for comment while the case played out in court. She provided a clearer picture of what happened during Rogers' Jan. 15 hearing, beyond information that was made available after Rogers was arrested on May 20, 2025.
The case serves as a stark example of crossing the line in political disagreement, said 2nd District Judge Michael Direda before handing down the sentence. It played out as political violence has become a major concern.
"People fought and died for the right to express our viewpoints. … What's not healthy is when ... the dialogue becomes threatening, where now people fear for their safety," he said. "It isn't just a bunch of idle talk, right? You have seen, as well as everyone else, the violence that has occurred in our world because people disagreed with another person's viewpoints."
What happened in May 2025 came after a series of high-profile cases in the country, targeting elected officials or political figures from different sides of the political spectrum. These include an assassination attempt on President Donald Trump that took place during a 2024 campaign rally. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's home was torched in April 2025 by a man who later pleaded guilty to arson.
It took place before a Minnesota senator and her husband were gunned down at their home, and another Minnesota lawmaker and his spouse were wounded at their home in June 2025. A Payson man was charged last month with threatening to shoot Gov. Spencer Cox and other Utah leaders, while political activists Charlie Kirk was shot and killed Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem.
Ultimately, I hope that this is a learning opportunity for him and the community, because this is scary stuff and it affects real people, and it should be taken seriously.
–Davis County prosecutor Richard Larsen
Mendenhall explained that she's no stranger to people disagreeing with her or her views, but what happened last year was different.
She's usually not made aware of potential threats, but the posts that came from a now-suspended X account linked to Rogers were an exception. They urged violence against the mayor and her family in response to Salt Lake City's decision to adopt three new flags to bypass a new state law that would have banned it from flying LGBTQ or Juneteenth flags.
It became severe enough that the city took extra precautions, while she and her husband fled their home for that Mother's Day weekend.
"I'm a mother before I'm a mayor every single day. As a mother, I felt disgusted by these threats and afraid for my family," she said. "I wanted to protect them and prevent even my kids' knowledge of this individual's comments."
Rogers was under the impression that Salt Lake City's order violated a Trump order in a way that was akin to "treason," through misinformation online, his attorney Kurt Heglesen told the court. He added that Rogers is a family man with no previous criminal history, but ultimately got swept up in the misinformation, which has been a "real problem" amid political division.
"My choice of words was embarrassing (and) regrettable," Rogers said. "There's no justification for threatening someone and their family. I regret everything that has happened."
Direda delivered a sentence that was harsher than what Mendenhall had requested, saying that a class A misdemeanor stalking charge was "woefully inadequate" in relation to what took place last year. Aside from immediate jail time, other conditions were also included, such as 10 months of jail that were suspended and measures to ensure he never makes online threats while on probation.
It's a cautionary tale of taking political disagreement too far, said Davis County prosecutor Richard Larsen.
"I don't doubt that the defendant feels bad about what he's done, but this is a serious issue," he said. "Ultimately, I hope that this is a learning opportunity for him and the community, because this is scary stuff, and it affects real people, and it should be taken seriously."
