Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has activated the state’s National Guard in response to planned weekend protests staged by the “No Kings” movement nationwide to coincide with President Donald Trump’s military parade on Saturday.
Kehoe, a Republican, signed an executive order establishing a state of emergency over the potential of violence at the protests. He singled out the cities of Kansas City, Springfield, and St. Louis as places where the protests might get out of hand and “create conditions of distress and hazards to the safety, welfare, and property of the citizens and visitors of the communities beyond the capacities of local jurisdictions and other established agencies.”
Protest organizers proclaim on the No Kings website: “They’ve defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights, and slashed our services. The corruption has gone too. far. No thrones. No crowns. No kings.”
KSDK in St Louis reported that Rep. Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City, minority leader in the Missouri House of Representatives, called the governor’s order “unwarranted” and said it was intended to intimidate peaceful protesters.
The station reported that thousands took to the streets in communities across the state on Wednesday in protest of arrests made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents across the country.
The Army parade at the Capitol in Washington is to take place on Trump’s 79th birthday. Since the president plans to attend the event, many detractors are also calling the event “Trump’s birthday party.”
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