By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Protests in Los Angeles over President Trumps immigration policy have spread across the nation, some peaceful and some spiraling into violence.
While no protests happened in St. Joseph, several happened around Missouri, prompting Governor Mike Kehoe to declare a state of emergency as a precaution, but the Missouri National Guard was not needed.
Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Puett says when it comes to policing protests there is a balance that comes with constitutional rights to peacefully protest
“Peaceful protest means you’re in an area, you’re on a sidewalk, you’re moving, you’re carrying signs, you’re doing all those things, you can do that,” Puett tells KFEQmunnity host Brent Martin. “We’ve seen plenty of peaceful protests out here at Belt and Frederick.”
Puett says enforcement comes when things begin to turn away from that
“And you throw a rock, you throw, you throw a bottle, you throw urine, you throw rebar, brick bat, you throw anything, and you start burning stuff and everything else, those are not protestors, that is not covered by the constitution,” Puett says.
Puett says often times criminals will be criminals and use these protests as an opportunity
“Hey, guess what, I’ll go down here, and I’ll kick these windows in and I’ll do this and I’ll do that, if you truly want to protest then go out there and make your voice heard, do it as the constitution protects it,” Puett says.
Puett says there’s a delicate balance his office has to approach carefully when monitoring these protests
“Because it is a powder keg, and you don’t want to set that off,” Puett says. “So, if people are willing to peacefully protest, then we will preserve their rights, if they’re going to riot, they’re going to do whatever, then we will have to look at tactical solutions to address those things and try to avoid as much damage, injury, all those things.”
Puett says no protests towards Trumps immigration policies have happened around St. Joseph or Buchanan County.
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe had issued a state of emergency out of precaution, but the Missouri National Guard was not needed.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.