UPDATE: Judge awards injunction to planned country concert in Utah

(KUTV) — UPDATE: (Fri. May 29, 4:55 p.m.) — After a court hearing the Third District judge awarded an injunction against the Grantsville concert.

A planned country music concert in Grantsville will not be allowed to happen, according to the Tooele County Health Department.

The concert was to feature Collin Ray and was originally planned to take place in Kaysville. It was met with resistance from city and county leaders there, and the organizer opted to move it to a privately owned Grantsville venue, The Ampitheater at Studio Ranch.

Tooele County health officials sent amphitheater owner Jason Manning an order on Wednesday, instructing him that the event would be considered a temporary mass gathering and would "pose an imminent health hazard at this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic."

The county remains in the yellow/low risk phase for coronavirus, by executive order of Governor Gary Herbert. That executive order prohibits temporary mass gatherings — a point that was raised by the Davis County Health Department's director when he said the concert wouldn't be allowed in that county.

Tooele County Commissioner Shawn Milne told 2News many in the community reached out and said they did not want the event to proceed, indicating some were upset that a concert might be allowed, even though high school graduations had not been.

2News requested comment from Manning and Eric Moutsos, the event organizer, but had not heard back at the time of this report.

In a previous interview, Manning told 2News:

“I hope they get behind us rather than putting a hurdle in front of us. We’re practicing our freedoms, we’re practicing our rights, we’re not breaking the law."

In Wednesday's health order, the county threatened criminal charges if Manning fails to comply with the order. He told 2News last week that he wasn't worried about any charges or citations, saying, “I have a good lawyer."

The Tooele County Sheriff's Office indicated Tuesday it had spoken with Moutsos and doesn’t have any intention of going to the concert other than for an unforeseen emergency. Department spokesperson Lieutenant Eli Wayman said un-permitted events aren’t police business.

Jeremy Harris and Kyle Harvey contributed to this report.