Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas on Thursday criticized Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe for activating the state’s National Guard ahead of this weekend’s anti-Trump protests, calling the action an “unnecessary escalation.”
Dozens of “No Kings” protests are scheduled on Saturday across Missouri and Kansas, including several in the Kansas City area, to push back against the Trump administration’s policies. Thousands of such rallies are planned nationwide.
“The Mayor has confidence in responsible protestors to use their First Amendment rights peacefully and in compliance with the law,” Lucas said in a statement Thursday. “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.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri on Friday also denounced Kehoe's order.
"Governor Kehoe's decision to activate Missouri's National Guard serves as an unnecessary provocation to thwart public dissent," the organization said in a statement. "The right for people to join in protests or peaceful assembly is core to the First Amendment, and critical to a functioning democracy."
Lucas also appeared to criticize the state for proactively preparing for Saturday’s protesters while ignoring the Patriot Front, a white nationalist hate group whose masked members marched through downtown Kansas City in May.
“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,” Lucas said.
“No Kings” protests are scheduled for Saturday at Mill Creek Park in Kansas City, at West 119th Street and Blue Valley Parkway and at Prairiefire in Overland Park, at Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park in Lenexa, and in Lee's Summit.
Kehoe, a Republican, said he activated the National Guard as a “precautionary measure” in case of “civil unrest” during this weekend’s protests.
“We respect, and will defend, the right to peacefully protest, but we will not tolerate violence or lawlessness in our state,” he said in a statement.
Hundreds of Kansas Citians protested peacefully earlier this week at Southwest Boulevard and Avenida Cesar E. Chavez, in solidarity with Los Angeles protesters demanding an end to immigration raids.
“We will not allow what is going on in LA to happen in Missouri,” Attorney General Andrew Bailey wrote on social media, saying he supports “preemptive measures to ensure the lawlessness we’ve seen across our country does not reach our state.”
In a statement on X, St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer on Friday echoed Lucas' call for local law enforcement to handle protests.
"This weekend, I trust protesters in St. Louis to once again be peaceful, and I trust the @SLMPD to be equipped to protect our community," she wrote.
Kehoe’s order comes just days after President Donald Trump deployed the Marines and California’s National Guard, over the objections of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, to respond to protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the city. California officials said the presence of federal troops was ”unfortunately inflaming the situation, creating additional tension and provocation.”
In Kansas, Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly joined leaders from 20 other states to support California’s request for a court order blocking Trump’s control of the National Guard. A hearing in that case is scheduled for next week.
