Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has called up the National Guard in case anti-ICE protests here turn violent as with the Los Angeles riots.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas immediately responded with a statement blasting the governor’s move, calling it an “unnecessary escalation” that “undermines local law enforcement and makes all less safe.”
“We respect, and will defend, the right to peacefully protest,” Kehoe said in his own statement Thursday, “but we will not tolerate violence or lawlessness in our state. While other states may wait for chaos to ensue, the State of Missouri is taking a proactive approach in the event that assistance is needed to support local law enforcement in protecting our citizens and communities.”
Kehoe’s office called it “a precautionary measure in reaction to recent instances of civil unrest across the country.”
“This week,” his office said in a press release, “the Missouri Department of Public Safety, Missouri State Highway Patrol, and Missouri National Guard established a Unified Command to monitor situations on the ground and prepare to assist local law enforcement.”
The governor’s executive order, the press release says, establishes a state of emergency in the state and “calls on the Adjutant General, or his designee, to call and order into active service such portions of the National Guard personnel as he deems necessary to aid executive officials of Missouri to protect life and property.
“It is further ordered and directed that the Adjutant General or his designee, and through him, the commanding officer of any unit or other organization of the National Guard, to take action and employ such equipment as may be necessary in support of civilian authorities and provide such assistance as may be authorized and directed by Governor Kehoe.”
The full statement from Lucas’ office Thursday seemed to decry a lack of similar concern from the state when members of the far-right Patriot Front were reportedly seen at the National World War I Museum and Memorial over the Memorial Day weekend.
“Mayor Lucas is concerned with enhanced state enforcement for one set of protestors, but no action or aid to local law enforcement when Neo-Nazis march through Missouri’s urban streets.
“The Mayor has confidence in responsible protestors to use their First Amendment rights peacefully and in compliance with the law. More than one thousand Kansas Citians protested peacefully and responsibly just days ago.
“For those who do not act responsibly, the Mayor stands by the women and men of local law enforcement at KCPD and other agencies to handle any necessary enforcement actions. Unnecessary escalation from our nation’s capital and state capitals undermines local law enforcement and makes all less safe.”
The mayor’s statement does not take into account the fact that the Patriot Front’s appearance last month wasn’t announced. In addition, Kehoe is preemptively acting to secure protests mimicking those that have already turned violent elsewhere.
Likewise, Democrat House Minority Leader Ashley Aune assailed the governor’s precautionary steps at public safety.
“Governor Kehoe’s preemptive declaration of a state of emergency as Missourians prepare to protest an increasingly authoritarian presidential administration is a blatant attempt to intimidate and suppress First Amendment rights,” she said in a statement.
In contrast, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley enthusiastically welcomed the governor’s actions in response to a question from The Heartlander Friday.
“I absolutely trust the governor here to keep Missourians safe. You know, it’s the first duty of government to keep law-abiding citizens safe. And I support him. I support law enforcement.
“We’ve got terrific law enforcement in Missouri. I’ve worked with all of them as attorney general of the state for years, and I know the governor will do the right thing and will keep our law-abiding residents safe.”
