Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has activated the National Guard and declared a state of emergency in response to the anti-ICE riots and violent uprisings taking place all over the country.
The order was issued ahead of a nationwide day of protests being organized by multiple far-left and liberal organizations.
Gov. Kehoe signed Missouri Executive Order 25-25 on Thursday, which states, “the rule of law must be maintained in the cities of Kansas City, Springfield, St. Louis, and other affected communities, in the State of Missouri, for the protection, safety, welfare, and property of the citizens, visitors, and businesses of those communities.”
“We respect, and will defend, the right to peacefully protest, but we will not tolerate violence or lawlessness in our state,” Gov. Kehoe said.
“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 governor added.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas’ Office condemned the order and issued a rambling statement about neo-Nazis.
“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 statement reads. “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.”
Democrat Missouri House Minority Leader Ashley Aune also issued a statement calling the order unnecessary.
“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 wrote in a statement.
“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,” the state lawmaker added. “By doing the same, the governor will only heighten tensions and increase the possibility of conflict. Governor Kehoe should staunchly defend the rights of Missourians, not mimic the authoritarianism of the president.”
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey issued a statement supporting
Kehoe for “taking preemptive measures to ensure the lawlessness we’ve
seen across our country does not reach our state.”
We will not allow what is going on in LA to happen in Missouri.
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) June 12, 2025
Thank you @GovMikeKehoe for taking preemptive measures to ensure the lawlessness we’ve seen across our country does not reach our state.
“We will not allow what is going on in LA to happen in Missouri,” Bailey wrote in a post on X.
Radical leftist organizations are organizing nationwide protests against President Donald Trump and deportation on June 14.
The so-called "No Kings" protests are being orchestrated by extremist groups like the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Indivisible, and the 50501 Movement.
The groups claim to be organizing over 1,800 demonstrations in all 50 states to disrupt law and order, vilify President Trump, and demonize Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for doing its job.
The protests are scheduled to take place less than a week after Los Angeles faced mass anarchy when ICE raids on June 6 triggered riots that saw at least 11 police officers injured, Waymo taxis torched, and the 101 Freeway turned into a war zone with protesters hurling concrete and rental scooters at cops.