Case No. 221906445 in the Third Judicial District Court for Salt Lake County, Utah
The following are excerpts from the lengthy file maintained by investigators of the Office of the Utah Attorney General, documenting their investigation activities into the criminal case brought against Jason Hall. The file was obtained through a GRAMA request. GRAMA is the Government Records Access and Management Act, Utah’s version of the Freedom of Information Act. Large portions of the file obtained were redacted to protect personal and sensitive information, leaving a record suitable for disclosure to the public.
Routine documentation related to custody of evidence, entries concerning leads that proved irrelevant, and other inconsequential portions are omitted.
NOTE THAT WITHIN THE FILE AND IN THE FOLLOWING TIMELINE AND SUMMARY ARE FOUND MANY WITNESS STATEMENTS, INVESTIGATOR OPINIONS, AND OTHER ALLEGATIONS THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN SUBSTANTIATED.
If you find any errors, please report them to admin@bluffdalefloodlight.com.
These files are listed in the order in which the events happened.
Table of Contents
- 2 December 2020 to 20 December 2021 Forensics report made on April 12, 2022 of texting on Jason Hall’s cell phone, including several texts regarding Jeff Gaston.
- 5 March 2021 Email to Jeff Gaston accusing him of being a “school-yard bully” from cpacbluffdale@gmail.com
- 8 March 2021 Email with the subject, “Time to Stand” which was sent to the Bluffdale City Council members, mayor, and other city officials, advising them on how to deal with Councilman Jeff Gaston, and accusing him of lacking decorum, grandstanding, and being a bully, among other things. It purports to be from a group called “Bluffdale Citizens for Civility,” and was sent from bluffdalecitizensforcivility@yahoo.com. Jason Hall admitted to having sent this email.
- 9 March 2021 Large envelope received by Jeff Gaston at his home. It contained items mocking Gaston and is alleged to have included a note with the words, “…then maybe you will just end up being killed”. Jason Hall admitted to sending the package, but denied that he included the threatening letter.
- 9 March 2021 George Schliesser delivers a box to Bluffdale City Hall with gag gifts for each City Council member, including reflective glasses “to hide your eye rolling at Jeff Gaston’s Posturing and Self-aggrandizement.”
- 5 March to 10 March 2021 Forensics exam of cell phone records showing texting between George Schliesser and Jason Hall
- 11 March 2021 Letter mailed to Jeff Gaston at City Hall including the words, ” “It’s time we put you down like the Dog you are…” (Councilman Gaston received and opened the letter during the City Council Meeting on 24 March 2021.)
- 14 June 2021 Email to Jeff Gaston with the words, “You think you know how to run dirty tricks to put your opponents at a disadvantage. You have no idea what you’re up against” and, “You’ll be putting your house for sale by the time we’re done.” Sent from cpacbluffdale@gmail.com. Jason Hall later admitted to sending this email.
- Late June 2021 Jeff Gaston decides not to run for mayor. 4 July 2021 Jeff Gaston starts supporting John Robert’s campaign for mayor. See items 4 and 13 of the Jeff Gaston witness testimony found in this document.
- 20 July 2021 Brief email sent to Gaston mocking him for supporting John Roberts for mayor, laced with extremely vulgar language. Sent from cpacbluffdale@gmail.com. Jason Hall later admitted to sending this email. Also, see Jason Hall’s references to Gaston running for mayor in his June 14, 2021 email sent to Gaston through the cpacbluffdale@gmail.com account.
- 1 March to 20 July 2021 Forensics report utilizing data obtained through a search warrant to Google about possible ownership by Jason Hall of the accounts that sent emails to Jeff Gaston
- 14 August 2021 Incident at Old West Days in which Jason Hall allegedly hit Jeff Gaston with signs. Witness reports were gathered by the police later:
- 15 March 2022 Witness interview of an unnamed man
- 17 March 2022 Witness interview of an unnamed woman
- 29 July 2022 Witness interview of the Former Mayor of Bluffdale City
- 16 August 2022 Witness interview of an unnamed man
- 26 August to 12 September 2022 Investigation of possible witness tampering with one of the Attorney General’s witnesses to the Old West Days incident
- 20 May 2025 Jason Hall’s report of the incident at Old West Days was included in his counterclaim to a civil lawsuit brought against him by Jeff Gaston.
- 2 November 2021 George Schliesser mails a box to Jeff Gaston at Gaston’s home with a jester’s hat and including the note, “You’ve earned this.” The return address was “1154 S 300 W/ SLC, UT 84101,” which is the address of a business called Social Axe Throwing.
- 5 March to 2 November 2021 Police report concluding, “All of these emails, letters, and packages all appear to be related and involved.” This is the beginning of the investigation into George Schliesser, who admitted to delivering packages to Jeff Gaston for Jason Hall.
- 20 November 2021 Letter sent to Jeff Gaston’s home demanding that he move or resign, and ending with the sentence, “If you don’t you will end up dead.”
- 2 March 2022 Primary officer’s report of the forensics interview he and an assisting officer did with Jason Hall. The assisting officer’s report follows this one.
- 2 March 2022 Assistant officer’s report of the forensics interview he and another officer did with Jason Hall. The primary officer’s report precedes this one.
- 2 March 2022 Complete transcript of the interview two officers conducted with Jason Hall. This transcript was later suppressed from evidence in this case due to the officers’ failing to clarify Hall’s equivocal response of “potentially,” when asked if Hall would be willing to answer questions. In this interview, Jason Hall admits to sending the emails but denies sending threats in emails or letters.
- 2 March 2022 Officer’s report of the forensics interview he did with Mayor Natalie Hall
- 3 March 2022 Report of discussion between officers of the accusation by Jason Hall that Jeff Gaston put the death threats in the letters himself
- 3 March 2022 Forensics report of a comparison of the emails released from Google under search warrant with the emails Jeff Gaston forwarded to the police. This exam was done in order to evaluate a claim Jason Hall allegedly made that Jeff Gaston had changed the emails to make them appear worse.
- 4 March 2022 Forensics comparison of the wording of the emails with the wording of the death threat letters
- 15 March 2022 Forensics comparison of the emails, packages, and letters
- 23 March 2022 Follow up report to fill in a statement from Jeff Gaston which an investigator had failed to document previously
- 25 March 2022 A report of a search for keywords in the Google email files obtained through a search warrant
- 20 April 2022 Report of Jeff Gaston’s call to the police because a suspicious letter was in his mailbox. When the officer arrived and inspected the letter still in the mailbox, it turned out to be a thank-you note from a known sender in an envelope without a return address.
- 23 May 2022 A report of seeking a search warrant to check another email address to determine if it was operated by Jason Hall. The report mentions that the threat letters have the same wording as the emails.
- 26 May 2022 Report of the reply data for the search warrant issued to Yahoo concluding that the email address which sent the email to the Bluffdale City Council about Jeff Gaston was associated with Jason Hall
- 7 July 2022 Police report of a statement Mayor Natalie Hall issued to the press regarding the investigation into Jason Hall
- 3 November 2022 Interview of Jazmine Beeny, wife of Jeff Gaston
- 17 March 2023 Interview of George Schliesser, the employee of Jason Hall, in which he admits delivering the packages for him
- 1 November to 3 November 2023 Emails between Bluffdale City Police and the Utah Attorney General’s Office stating that Jeff Gaston gave the police the two March 2022 threat letters within a couple of days of receiving them, directly refuting Natalie and Jason Hall’s claim that he waited 8 months
Documents
2 December 2020 to 20 December 2021 Forensics report made on April 12, 2022 of texting on Jason Hall’s cell phone, including several texts between Natalie Hall and Jason Hall regarding Jeff Gaston
5 March 2021 Email to Jeff Gaston accusing him of being a “school-yard bully” from cpacbluffdale@gmail.com
This is a copy of the email from the court record. Jeff Gaston forwarded it to an investigator who put it in the record.
8 March 2021 Email with the subject, “Time to Stand” which was sent to the Bluffdale City Council members, mayor, and other city officials, advising them on how to deal with Councilman Jeff Gaston, and accusing him of lacking decorum, grandstanding, and being a bully, among other things. It purports to be from a group called “Bluffdale Citizens for Civility,” and was sent from bluffdalecitizensforcivility@yahoo.com. Jason Hall admitted to having sent this email. Jeff Gaston forwarded this to an investigator who put it in the record.
9 March 2021 Large envelope received by Jeff Gaston at his home. It contained items mocking Gaston and is alleged to have included a note with the words, “…then maybe you will just end up being killed”. Jason Hall admitted to sending the package, but denied that he included the threatening letter.
9 March 2021 George Schliesser, an employee of Jason Hall, delivered a box to Bluffdale City Hall at the direction of Jason Hall. It contained gag gifts for each City Council member and the mayor, including pacifiers and reflective glasses “to hide your eye rolling at Jeff Gaston’s Posturing and Self-aggrandizement.”
5 March to 10 March 2021 Forensics exam of cell phone records showing texting between George Schliesser and Jason Hall
11 March 2021 Letter mailed to Jeff Gaston at City Hall including the words, “It’s time we put you down like the Dog you are…” (Councilman Gaston received and opened the letter during the City Council Meeting on 24 March 2021.)
14 June 2021 Email to Jeff Gaston with the words, “You think you know how to run dirty tricks to put your opponents at a disadvantage. You have no idea what you’re up against” and, “You’ll be putting your house for sale by the time we’re done.” Sent from cpacbluffdale@gmail.com. Jason Hall later admitted to sending this email.
Late June 2021 Jeff Gaston decides not to run for mayor. 4 July 2021 Jeff Gaston starts supporting John Robert’s campaign for mayor. See items 4 and 13 of the Jeff Gaston witness testimony contained in this document. Also, see Jason Hall’s references to Gaston running for mayor in his June 14, 2021 email sent to Gaston through the cpacbluffdale@gmail.com account.
20 July 2021 Brief email sent to Gaston mocking him for supporting John Roberts for mayor, laced with extremely vulgar language. Sent from cpacbluffdale@gmail.com. Jason Hall later admitted to sending this email.
1 March to 20 July 2021 Forensics report utilizing data obtained through a search warrant to Google about possible ownership by Jason Hall of the accounts that sent emails to Jeff Gaston.
14 August 2021 Incident at Old West Days in which Jason Hall allegedly hit Jeff Gaston with signs. Witness reports were gathered by the police later and follow.
15 March 2022 Witness interview of an unnamed man regarding the Old West Days incident on 14 August 2021
17 March 2022 Witness interview of an unnamed woman regarding the Old West Days incident on 14 August 2021
29 July 2022 Witness interview of the former mayor of Bluffdale City regarding the Old West Days incident on 14 August 2021
16 August 2022 Witness interview of an unnamed man regarding the Old West Days incident on 14 August 2021
26 August to 12 September 2022 Investigation of possible witness tampering with one of the Attorney General’s witnesses to the Old West Days incident
20 May 2025 Jason Hall’s report of the incident at Old West Days on 14 August 2021 was filed in an answer to a civil lawsuit. See the account beginning in numbered point 89.
2 November 2021 George Schliesser mails a box to Jeff Gaston at Gaston’s home with a jester’s hat and including the note, “You’ve earned this.” The return address, written as “1154 S 30 W/ SLC, UT 84101,” is the address of a business called Social Axe Throwing.
(This above photo was not included in the Attorney General’s Office investigation file, but is included to show the return address.)
20 November 2021 Letter sent to Jeff Gaston’s home demanding that he move or resign, and ending with the sentence, “If you don’t you will end up dead.”
2 March 2022 Primary officer’s report of the forensics interview he and an assisting officer did with Jason Hall. The assisting officer’s report follows this one.
2 March 2022 Assistant officer’s report of the forensics interview he and another officer did with Jason Hall. The primary officer’s report precedes this one.
2 March 2022 Complete transcript of the interview two officers conducted with Jason Hall. This transcript was later suppressed from evidence in this case due to the officers’ failing to clarify Hall’s equivocal response of “potentially,” when asked if Hall would be willing to answer questions. In this interview, Jason Hall admits to sending the emails but denies sending threats in emails or letters.
2 March 2022 Officer’s report of the forensics interview he did with Mayor Natalie Hall
3 March 2022 Report of discussion between officers of the accusation by Jason Hall that Jeff Gaston put the death threats in the letters himself
3 March 2022 Forensics report of a comparison of the emails released from Google under search warrant with the emails Jeff Gaston forwarded to the police. This exam was done in order to evaluate a claim Jason Hall allegedly made that Jeff Gaston had changed the emails to make them appear worse. The officer cut and pasted all the emails into his report, and then states his conclusions on the final page.
4 March 2022 Forensics comparison of the wording of the emails with the wording of the death threat letters
15 March 2022 Forensics comparison of the emails, packages, and letters
23 March 2022 Follow up report to fill in a statement from Jeff Gaston which an investigator had failed to document previously. The statement discusses the fear Jeff Gaston and his fiancée felt because of the letters and emails Jeff had received.
25 March 2022 A report of a search for keywords in the Google email files obtained through a search warrant. The exam found a list of words in an Mbox file including “sunglasses,” “binky,” “anger mngmnt movie,” “manure delivery,” “penis enlarger,” and “Porn mags to city hall.”
20 April 2022 Report of Jeff Gaston’s call to the police because a suspicious letter was in his mailbox. When the officer arrived and inspected the letter still in the mailbox, it turned out to be a thank-you note from a known sender in an envelope without a return address.
23 May 2022 A report of seeking a search warrant to check another email address to determine if it was operated by Jason Hall. The report mentions that the threat letters have the same wording as the emails.
26 May 2022 Report of the reply data for the search warrant issued to Yahoo concluding that the email address which sent the email to the Bluffdale City Council about Jeff Gaston was associated with Jason Hall
7 July 2022 Police report of a statement Mayor Natalie Hall issued to the press regarding the investigation into Jason Hall
3 November 2022 Interview of Jazmine Beeny, wife of Jeff Gaston
17 March 2023 Interview of George Schliesser, the employee of Jason Hall, in which he admits delivering the packages for Hall.
1 November to 3 November 2023 Emails between Bluffdale City Police and the Utah Attorney General’s Office stating that Jeff Gaston gave the police the two March 2022 threat letters within a couple of days of receiving them, directly refuting Natalie and Jason Hall’s claim that he waited 8 months
