The SLCO Republican Party broke all the rules to punish 8 of its own.
Here's what happened.
Large paper on SLCOGOP violations toward the 8
Salt Lake County Republican Party Comprehensive Violations Register
Click the image for the full document
Small paper on SLCOGOP violations toward the 8
Salt Lake County Republican Party Governance Violations Register (Concise)
Click the image for the full document
Flier on 8 the distributed at the Central Committee meeting in February
Read on for a brief outline of events leading to the purge of the 8 from the SLCO GOP
ELECTION INTEGRITY CONCERNS RAISEDSLCo GOP members raise concerns of election interference under Chair Mike Carey & Executive Committee
In August and September 2025, multiple members of the Salt Lake County GOP Executive Committee (EC) expressed concerns, verbally and in writing, that the EC under the direction of SLCO GOP Chair Mike Carey was violating its bylaws and running afoul of state code by endorsing candidates in non-partisan elections.
The Salt Lake County Republican Party has no documented history of endorsing specific Republican candidates over others, instead directing GOP voters to select candidates who align with the platform. There is no proof that the SLCO GOP endorsing in non-partisan races is "standard operating procedure," despite claims to the contrary.
UNLAWFUL POWER GRAB
SLCo GOP Chair Mike Carey & EC ignore bylaws & concerns, push unauthorized endorsements in non-partisan racesIn August 2025, Carey & the Executive Committee (EC) proceeded to take steps to endorse their preferred candidates in non-partisan races, although it had no authority through its governing documents to take this action .
The EC is an administrative body, not a governing one, consists of fewer than 25 designated members, and has no power or process given to it by the bylaws or by state law to unilaterally endorse or nominate its preferred candidates in municipal races.
If there is to be any vetting of non-partisan candidates by the SLCO GOP it should be done through a lawful process by the delegates of those areas.
CONCERNS ON ELECTION INTEGRITY ESCALATED
8 members of the SLCo GOP send a letter with concerns of election interference to city DAs, copy-in interested partiesIn September 2025, 8 members of the Salt Lake County GOP, backed by the Ethics section of the bylaws (Article V.3.F.5) which encourages members to take illegal matters to the appropriate authorities, wrote a letter to the DAs of the cities potentially impacted by the unprecedented, unauthorized SLCoGOP Executive Committee endorsements in non-partisan races.
The letter articulated the serious concern that SLCO GOP Chair Mike Carey and the EC exercised powers they did not have under the law or bylaws to unfairly & improperly tip the scales toward candidates they personally favored in local elections.
The letter suggested remedies to help the Party comply with the law. It was not a criminal referral (only law enforcement or prosecutors can file criminal referrals), nor did it demand EC members be thrown in jail, as Carey and members of the EC have baselessly claimed in an effort to misrepresent the true nature of the letter's intent and content.
BOGUS TRIALS: PT. I
SLCo GOP Chair Mike Carey launches 1st wave of retaliation, breaks bylaws to target 2 of the 8 signers of the letterIn December 2025, SLCO GOP Chair Mike Carey called for Executive Committee members Kaye Sanderson and Laurel Fetzer to be tried through an "emergency meeting." Carey used the pretext of an emergency meeting to conduct a trial that circumvented due process to the accused required by both the bylaws and Robert's Rules of order.
The accused were given less than a week to prepare a defense, told that they could only have "silent counsel," afforded no investigation, given no specific charges for Standards of Conduct violations, and improper notice, among other improprieties.
The blatantly rushed trial was the first of a pattern of acts by Mike Carey running roughshod over the Party's governing documents to retaliate against the 8 for writing a letter alleging election interference by Carey and the EC.
THE 8 PUSH BACK
8 members & defenders fight off SLCo GOP Chair Mike Carey's attacks, expose out-of-order meetings & bylaw violationsIn December 2025, the 8 and their defenders produced video testimony and documented evidence of SLCO GOP Chair Mike Carey's callous disregard for parliamentary procedure, leading to fabricated charges and a rigged trial. Carey admits on X.com that the trial meeting was out of order and improperly conducted.
TRUMPED-UP ACCUSATIONS
SLCo GOP Chair Mike Carey launches 2nd wave of retaliation, fabricates charges against all 8, denies them due processIn January 2026, SLCo GOP Chair Mike Carey charges the 8 with conduct "injuring the good name of the Party," which is an offense defined in Robert's Rules, not in the bylaws.
But the bylaws define what conduct offenses members can be charged with, and all charges for defined offenses must go through the Ethics Committee, per Article V.3.F.5 of the Salt Lake County GOP bylaws. Carey's allegations of misconduct could not addressed by the Executive Committee without these allegations originating with the Ethics Committee first, which is not what happened. This makes Carey's claim that the trial would be conducted "in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised [RONR] and County Party bylaws" false on both counts.
BOGUS TRIALS: PT. II
SLCoGOP EC & Chair Mike Carey conduct kangaroo court, act as accuser, jury & judge to wrongfully convict the 8; defenders of the 8 expose abuses of powerIn February 2026, SLCo GOP Chair Mike Carey and certain members of the Executive Committee held the trial, despite egregious pre-existing procedural deficiencies. The trial was defined by a number of additional procedural violations, including:
- Conflict of interest - the accusers (EC and Carey) also acted as jury, and judge, resulting in a prejudicial bias against the accused.
- No quorum - Failure to establish or maintain quorum during the trial (body of 23 requires 16 members, trial had 15 to begin, which went down to 14 prior to 6 of the 8 being tried).
- Illegitimate chair - The Parliamentarian, Kirby Glad, stepped in as Chair Pro Tem although the bylaws require a member of leadership to chair if present (Chair Carey, Secretary Swanson, and Treasurer Jurek were all present).
- Unauthorized punishments - The 8 were given a series of punishments, not just one of a series as allowed under the bylaws.
DISSENT SILENCED, DISSENTERS DEFAMED
SLCo GOP Chair Mike Carey's retaliatory pattern persists: imposes invalid penalties, breaks confidentiality mandatesIn February 2026, SLCO GOP Chair Mike Carey sits down to a private meeting after the trial with the counsel of the 8, Natalie Clawson, Esq., as requested by a 3rd party mediator. Carey is counseled not to violate the rights of the 8, which he responds to by filing a malicious and retaliatory Utah Bar complaint against Clawson that gets dismissed. Bar complaints must be kept confidential by the complainant, but Carey spoke of his action to others.
Carey informs the 8 of the penalties imposed on them, which exceeds those allowed by both Robert's Rules and the bylaws. He then proceeds to publicize the confidential details and verdict of the SLCO GOP's illegitimate trials for the 8 on X and through various media outlets, exposing the 8 to libelous and defamatory coverage in violation of the confidentiality for disciplinary proceedings mandated by both the SLCO GOP bylaws and Robert's Rules of Order. It is estimated that the media coverage reached hundreds of thousands of viewers.
DEFYING THE GRASSROOTS PARTY LEADERS: PT. I
SLCo GOP Chair Mike Carey breaks bylaws to shut down motions & ignores precinct chairs special meeting request to nullify unlawful actions against the 8, who continue to document the abuses of powerIn February 2026, SLCO GOP Chair refuses to acknowledge motions to restore unity and party positions and participation to the 8 wrongfully purged. Carey also defies the bylaws by ignoring a certified request of more than 10% of members of the SLCO GOP's governing body, the Central Committee, for a special meeting to address restoring the party privileges of the 8.
The 8's information contributed toward the compiling of a comprehensive table of procedural and substantive errors that have gone uncorrected by Salt Lake County Chair Mike Carey and were allowed by Parliamentarian Kirby Glad, whom Carey personally retained for the trials and compensated "in-kind" for his services.
CAUCUS ELECTION INTERFERENCE
SLCo GOP Chair Mike Carey wrongfully denies convention credentials to some of 8 duly re-elected at caucus, orders precinct chairs to disqualify valid electionsIn March 2026, SLCo GOP Secretary Emily Swanson orders Precinct Chairs to revoke the credentials of some of the 8 who ran again for party positions and were elected by acclamation by their precincts to various positions (precinct leadership, state & county delegate). Knowing that the EC had no authority under the bylaws to ban them from running again, those of the 8 who were re-elected and their precinct chairs refused to comply with Swanson's illicit order.
Some of the 8 denied their credentials challenged the action at both the Salt Lake County and Utah GOP conventions.
DEFAMATION, PROPAGANDA & MORE ELECTION INTERFERENCE
SLCo GOP Chair Mike Carey spreads disinformation on the 8, attacks & undermines campaigns of Republican candidates exposing corruptionIn April and May 2026, SLCO GOP Chair Mike Carey appears on a publicly-recorded podcast at the Utah GOP convention to continue his defamation tour of the 8, making provably false statements about them and Senate 18 candidate Tracie Halvorsen, whose race was to be held that day at convention. Carey later threatens Salt Lake County Republican nominee and candidate for State School Board 5, Michael Clara, with an Ethics complaint for his vocal criticism of Carey's well-documented abuses of authority against the 8, leaving Clara to suspend his campaign.
DEFYING THE GRASSROOTS PARTY LEADERS: PT. II
SLCo GOP Chair Mike Carey again refuses to call special meeting, manipulates quarterly meeting agendaIn April 2026, SLCO GOP Chair Mike Carey received yet another request from more than 10% of the Central Committee members for a special meeting. Carey not only failed to call for the special meeting within the 20 days required by the bylaws, he also failed to call it at all, opting instead to append the meeting topic to the agenda of the regularly scheduled quarterly Central Committee meeting. Again, this is an act that is in outright defiance of will of the governing body of the party and in gross violation of both Robert's Rules of Order and the SLCO GOP bylaws.
8 members of the SLCO GOP were unlawfully ousted from their party positions & participation by SLCO GOP Chair Mike Carey and the Executive Committee.
Carey and the EC repeatedly violated bylaws and Robert's Rules of Order to bring about this purge.
Their failure to observe the due process rights of the accused in an effort to prosecute them for unproven accusations has defamed the accused and resulted in damage to Party unity and the integrity of the SLCO GOP.
Carey has become a law unto himself in the SLCO GOP. His anti-American, anti-Republican attacks on members for wanting the party to stick to the rule of law on elections will only chill future calls for fair, accountable, and ethical governance. This hurts the party’s effectiveness to advance its platform and destroys trust in its ability to govern responsibly and effectively.
The Maoists-Marxist politics of destroying dissent and consolidating power engaged in by the chair aren’t solving the problem of SLCO being blue in the center and purple around the edges. Utah’s largest county is less pro-family, less pro-faith, and less pro-freedom than it’s ever been.