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Utah law would allow for Confederate flags to be shown in schools but not Pride flag

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Utah law would allow for Confederate flags to be shown in schools but not Pride flag


Utah state lawmakers are fighting to ban the display of Pride flags — but not Nazi or Confederate flags — in schools and on all government property.

Utah’s House Education Committee introduced a bill this week that bans Pride flags in all public schools and other government buildings, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. The bill passed committee — with the only two Democrats voting against it — and is now on its way to the House floor.

The bill allows for “a historic version of a flag…that is temporarily displayed for educational purposes,” which Republican lawmaker Trevor Lee says will include Nazi and Confederate flags, according to the Tribune.

Lee, who first introduced the bill in an effort to “ban Pride flags,” argued displaying the Nazi and Confederate flags may be necessary for a school’s curriculum.

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The new bill would ban Pride flags in Utah schools, but Nazi flags would be allowed under certain circumstances.

The new bill would ban Pride flags in Utah schools, but Nazi flags would be allowed under certain circumstances. (Getty Images)

“There are instances where in classrooms, you have curriculum that is needed to use flags such as World War II, Civil War,” Lee told the House committee, according to the Tribune. “You may have a Nazi flag. You may have a Confederate flag, and so you are allowed to display those flags… as part of the curriculum, and that is okay.”

Lee later disputed that he said a Nazi flag could be displayed and claimed that his bill would not allow this in an interview with the Tribune.

“There is a difference between displaying flags in curriculum when you’re teaching on them,” he told the Tribune on Thursday. “You don’t censor history here.”

WhenThe Independent contacted Lee for comment, he said: “You have pronouns in your profile, I can’t take you seriously. Put that in your article.”

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Utah lawmaker Trevor Lee introduced the bill, which he said was designed to 'ban' Pride flags. He didn’t comment on the specific on the bills when contacted by The Independent.

Utah lawmaker Trevor Lee introduced the bill, which he said was designed to ‘ban’ Pride flags. He didn’t comment on the specific on the bills when contacted by The Independent. (Utah House of Representatives)

Utah residents have spoken out against the bill.

“This ban is unconstitutional and only serves as a means of control over the people,” high school senior Millie Dworkin said during public testimony, according to the Tribune. “You all argue semantics, but you all know this is wrong and immoral.”

“Queer people commit suicide at a higher rate than everybody else…This is not because they are inherently prone to commit suicide due to their sexual orientation or gender identity,” she added. “It is because of how they are treated. If you pass this, you will have queer blood on your hands.”

As Utah lawmakers target the LGBTQ+ community on a state level, President Donald Trump has continued to do so on a national level.

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Last month, Trump denied the existence of transgender, nonbinary and intersex people by signing an executive order ordering the government to “recognize two sexes, male and female,” claiming these sexes are “not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.” He later signed an executive order banning trans women and girls from competing in women’s sports.

In response, the Human Rights Campaign said officials have “manufactured a misinformed conversation about elite, adult athletes to justify passing extreme, discriminatory legislation targeting transgender youth in schools.”

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you. In the UK, people having mental health crises can contact the Samaritans at 116 123 or jo@samaritans.org.



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Utah

Here’s who will lead Utah Valley University as its next president

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Here’s who will lead Utah Valley University as its next president


Jon Anderson will be charged with moving the Orem school forward following the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on campus last year.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Incoming UVU President Jon Anderson poses for a photo with his family after an event announcing his selection at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, July 17, 2026.



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Beaver County residents set up thousands of sandbags ahead of flashfloods

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Beaver County residents set up thousands of sandbags ahead of flashfloods


BEAVER COUNTY, Utah — A massive community effort is underway as volunteers and Beaver County crews distribute thousands of sandbags to protect homes from the potential path of floodwaters.

After the Cottonwood Fires, residents have been waiting for weeks for relief to come in the form of rain, though officials now warn it may come all at once with an increased risk of flooding and debris flow.

Emergency Service Director Les Whitney believes that the fire has left plenty of debris to bring trouble for residents.

“We got a lot of water. We’re bringing debris with it, so tree branches, tree limbs, logs, lots of different size firewood, and that’s all in the creeks. We’re worried about that plugging up our bridges and stuff, so we have heavy equipment and excavators located in strategic places so that we can keep those bridges open,” said Whitney.

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An estimated 140 homes and condominiums were spared from the flames, but remain in the paths of floodwaters.

Residents can also pick up sandbags at the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office or at the Beaver County Rodeo Fairgrounds.





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Utah man arrested again for allegedly abusing dog twice in three months

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Utah man arrested again for allegedly abusing dog twice in three months


EAGLE MOUNTAIN — An Eagle Mountain man currently on pretrial release in 4th District Court who is accused of abusing his dog has been arrested again for allegedly punching the same animal.

Keith Reaves Davis, 43, was booked into the Utah County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of aggravated cruelty to an animal.

Utah County sheriff’s deputies were called Wednesday afternoon to a grocery store on a report that a man was beating his dog after it had gotten off its leash and was stopped by a bystander, according to a police booking affidavit.

“I reviewed security camera footage from the grocery store, and an individual matching the description of the suspect was seen holding the dog in the air by one paw and repeatedly striking the dog on the right hind leg area. I observed the male strike the dog several times before dropping the dog from approximately 1-2 feet. The strikes appeared to be as hard as the male could hit,” the arresting deputy wrote in the affidavit. “The dog did not cry out or whimper as if the dog was accustomed to the abuse.”

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When questioned, Davis “admitted to striking the dog because it was not behaving,” the affidavit states.

An animal control officer who responded to the scene to take custody of the dog noted it was the same dog he had taken from Davis exactly three months earlier during another animal abuse investigation.

In that case, Davis was charged in 4th District Court with aggravated cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor; and public intoxication, a class C misdemeanor, after deputies received a tip from a neighbor that a dog was being abused at Davis’ home, according to charging documents. When questioned, Davis “acknowledged hitting his dog as punishment,” the charges state.

Deputies also reviewed videos that the neighbor had filmed. The neighbor told investigators “there was blood from the dog on the ground of the garage and (the neighbor) can hear the dog screaming as if it’s being hurt. Deputies got the videos from the (neighbor) and you can hear very loudly the dog screaming and crying with a lot of loud banging noises. In one of the videos, you can hear the dog sounding like it is being choked by a collar and is grasping for air,” a police booking affidavit states.

Davis’ next court hearing in the April case is scheduled for July 28.

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In their latest booking report, sheriff’s deputies note that they “believe further harm will be inflicted on this dog if it is released back to the male a second time,” and have recommended the dog not be returned to Davis.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.



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