Missouri governor activates National Guard ahead of anti-Trump protests
Gov. Mike Kehoe activated the Missouri National Guard on Thursday, declaring a state of emergency due to civil unrest, even as no evidence existed of riots or other widespread violence in the state.
The Republican governor singled out Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield and other “affected communities” in Missouri where events were occurring or “could occur” that create hazards for people and property beyond the resources of local officials.
The decision to call up the National Guard came ahead of anticipated widespread, national demonstrations on Saturday to protest President Donald Trump. On that day, Trump plans to hold a military parade in Washington, D.C.
The activation by Kehoe, a former lieutenant governor who cast himself as a champion of law and order, also comes after Trump federalized the California National Guard in response to protests in Los Angeles and also sent hundreds of Marines into the city – an extraordinary demonstration of power that local officials call provocative.
Kehoe called the Missouri activation precautionary. Nevertheless, the text of the governor’s executive order activating the National Guard declares that a state of emergency “exists in the State of Missouri due to civil unrest.”
“We respect, and will defend, the right to peacefully protest, but we will not tolerate violence or lawlessness in our state,” Kehoe said in a statement. “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.”
The move quickly sparked objections from officials and lawmakers in the Kansas City area, who cast the order as premature and said it could heighten tensions. Kansas City Democrats have long been frustrated by Republican leaders in Jefferson City and their willingness to impose their will on the city.
A spokesperson for Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, in a statement, juxtaposed Kehoe’s order ahead of anti-Trump protests with the lack of a statewide response when a group of white nationalists marched through Kansas City last month.
“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,” said spokesperson Megan Strickland. “The Mayor has confidence in responsible protestors to use their First Amendment rights peacefully and in compliance with the law.”
Kehoe declared the state of emergency days before he’s expected to travel to France on a trade mission. The governor’s office didn’t immediately respond to a question about whether he would still make the trip.
Thousands of people are expected to demonstrate across Missouri on Saturday in what organizers are calling “No Kings” marches and gatherings.
Indivisible, the progressive organization putting on the events, has promoted events in four Kansas City area cities in both Jackson and Johnson counties. A Kansas City demonstration will be held from noon to 3 p.m. at Mill Creek Park off the Plaza.
Kehoe’s announcement does not indicate whether the National Guard will be deployed anywhere in the state ahead of Saturday. The governor’s order gives the adjutant general the power to call the Guard into active service as deemed necessary.
Missouri House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, a Kansas City Democrat, said Kehoe’s order was a “blatant attempt to intimidate and suppress First Amendment rights.” Missourians, she said, were preparing to protest “an increasingly authoritarian presidential administration” and Kehoe should not mimic “the authoritarianism of the president.”
“The protests planned this weekend across Missouri and throughout the nation were sparked by the president’s unwarranted and heavy-handed military response to opposition to his policies,” Aune said in a statement. “By doing the same, the governor will only heighten tensions and increase the possibility of conflict.”
Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Kansas City Democrat, said she was frustrated by Kehoe’s order, saying that Missourians were “exercising their constitutional right to peacefully protest an incredibly unpopular president.”
Nurrenbern, in a statement, said she hopes Kehoe has communicated with local law enforcement and was not “simply staging a political stunt to stoke fear among his own constituents.”
“Because let’s be clear - a government that uses the military to suppress free and peaceful speech is a government wildly out of control,” she said.
Strickland, Lucas’ spokesperson, added that Kehoe’s order came just days after more than a thousand people protested in Kansas City peacefully. She said the mayor stands by local law enforcement, such as the Kansas City Police Department, 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,” Strickland said.
This story was originally published June 12, 2025 at 3:14 PM.
