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Utah’s Electoral College votes go to Donald Trump

Posted at 12:27 PM, Dec 19, 2016
and last updated 2016-12-19 23:33:39-05

SALT LAKE CITY -- Shouting "treason" and shame," protesters packed a Capitol Hill committee room as Utah's Electoral College cast their six ballots for Donald Trump.

It was part of a morning of demonstrations at the Capitol, as protesters pleaded with Electors to break with tradition -- and the law -- and vote Trump. About 150 people crowded into the rotunda to demonstrate against the President-elect. As the Electors cast their ballots, people spilled out into the hallways and began shouting.

A lone Donald Trump supporter holds up a sign as demonstrators protest the Electoral College vote in favor of the President-elect at the Utah State Capitol on Monday. (Photo by Ben Winslow, FOX 13 News)

A lone Donald Trump supporter holds up a sign as demonstrators protest the Electoral College vote in favor of the President-elect at the Utah State Capitol on Monday. (Photo by Ben Winslow, FOX 13 News)

"Zeig Heil!" an anti-Trump demonstrator shouted just after the votes were cast, mocking the Electoral College.

Utah Lt. Governor Spencer Cox tried to calm the crowd.

"I hope you know that this matters. All of this matters," Lt. Governor Spencer Cox told the crowd. "What they're doing matters, what you're doing matters."

"Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!" the crowd chanted.

But the outcome was not expected to change. Under Utah law, if an Elector breaks with the winner then the political party (in this case, the Utah GOP) would immediately replace them. Still, it was disappointing for the demonstrators.

"Shame on them! Shame on them! There's a couple of women on there and they should be thinking about women's rights and how he's basically depicted women," said Noor Ul-Hasan. "Shame on these people!"

Peter Greathouse, one of Utah's six Electors, said there was a lot of pressure to vote against Trump.

Demonstrators at the Electoral College meeting in the Utah State Capitol, where Donald Trump received the state's six votes. (Photo by Ben Winslow, FOX 13 News)

Demonstrators at the Electoral College meeting in the Utah State Capitol, where Donald Trump received the state's six votes. (Photo by Ben Winslow, FOX 13 News)

"I received hundreds of letters, emails, phone calls, Facebook messages all asking me to change my vote," he said. "There was one or two asking me to support Donald Trump, but most of them were asking me to vote for somebody other than Donald Trump."

Elector Cherilyn Eager said if demonstrators disagree with the process they can work to change that.

"I certainly hope that it doesn't move in the direction of a national popular vote, because smaller states like Utah need to be able to have that equal chance of getting their voices heard. We don't want it to be decided from Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City or Miami," she said. "We want Salt Lake City to have a piece of it."