“No Kings” 3 in Rural Missouri: Local Residents Rally in Warrenton to Express their Support for Constitutional Rights & Opposition to Trump’s Politics

*Revision Note*: This article has been revised to categorize the Wesleyan Church as an evangelical rather than mainstream Protestant organization.

It is a chilly sunny Saturday in the Midwest. Highway 70 construction near Warrenton, Missouri leads many commuters to adjacent roadways. If they choose the south service road they witness a line of people holding U.S. flags and signs saying things like “Stop Trump”, “We love immigrants”, “Patriots defend the Constitution”, and “No War No ICE No Kings”. Most commuters drive by silently, many honk their horns in approval, and some hold up a middle finger to the crowd. It’s a mixed bag of ire, validation, and indifference.

Some attendees are happy to share why they’re here. Linda attended a pro choice rally last year at Mid Rivers Mall in St. Peters but it is her first No Kings rally. When asked why she says, “I believe in democracy.”

Darlene is in her seventies and at her third No Kings rally: “I care about the rule of law and that we follow the constitution. I want to see three branches of government that function so that we have a balance and no one branch or individual takes over rulership.”

Alice is in her fifties and also at her third No Kings event: “I’m here because I am tired of our government acting cruelly, not following the constitution, treating people inhumanely, not giving people habeas corpus, and also I’m here because of the corruption that is in plain view in our government.”

It is Brian‘s second rally and Joanna’s third. Joanna states her attendance is about protecting the rights of her daughter and granddaughter.

Jennifer, in her fifties, is the event host and President of Warren County Democrats. “We don’t want kings or dictators…” she says.

Amy, also in her fifties, has been to half-a-dozen rallies and is the Secretary of Warren County Democrats. Amy adds that congress is complicit in allowing Trump’s actions.

Mike and Terry have been to one other rally. Mike wants the government to “Stop spending money on a needless war and feed some children”. Terry says, “We want people to think… We’re not experts.”

Savannah, in her twenties, states, “I’m a woman lover, man hater. But for real, he’s a pedophile.”

Sherry, in her seventies, lives in Missouri but attended the No Kings rally in Estes Park, Colorado last June. “We just wanted to do something because the country is going in the wrong direction… Something like this makes you feel like you’re not alone.”

Warrenton, Missouri is nearing 10,000 residents and slowly transforming from “small town” to “town” (Dijkstra et al., 2025; USCB, 2021). As its population grows, Warrenton appears to be slowly shedding some of its religiosity but little of its conservative politics (MSOS, 2026; theARDA, 2026). Warrenton remains religious, rural, and red.

Warrenton’s Fast Facts:

• The U.S. Census Bureau (2024) reports nine out of ten of Warrenton’s residents identify as white.
• Warrenton is the county seat of Warren County, Missouri and home to nearly a quarter of its population of 40,000 residents.
• Grammich et al. (2023) report 37.6% of Warren County’s residents as religious adherents (i.e. declared members of religion or regular attendees of religious services)
• From 1980-2020, Warren County’s mainline Protestant congregations (e.g. Methodist, United Church of Christ) more than halved while evangelical Protestant congregations nearly doubled (Grammich et al., 2020)
  • *Revision Note*: While Grammich et al. (2020) classifies the Wesleyan Church as an evangelical rather than mainstream Protestant organization, the Wesleyan Church is listed as losing the largest number (496) and percentage (82.7%) of adherents in Warren County from 1980-2020, making it an outlier among the Warren County’s Protestant evangelical community.
• Approximately three-fourths of Warren County’s residents voted in the 2024 general election and of those voters, roughly three-fourths (75%) cast their vote for Trump and Vance (MSOS, 2020/2024; Underwood, 2024).

I quickly count approximately 90 adult-aged attendees. One attendee reports a total of 106 people at the rally. Some are apprehensive of being interviewed or quoted. Others like Scott, an IAM union machinist and president of Missouri’s District 9 local lodge 777, are willing to be interviewed:

Scott: “Last year, the majority of Missourians, red and blue, voted for Medicaid expansion, right? With one signature, our famous governor, Kehoe, vetoed it. Took the will of the people right out of it. That’s wrong. That is dead wrong. So, you know, we gotta stand up to him. And if nobody does, I mean, they’re just gonna walk all over us and continue doing what they’re doing [and] what we’re seeing not only on the national level, but on the state level.”

Beside Scott is a Larry, a retired union carpenter: “We got a lunatic a freakin just mad man. His ego grows every time he does something. It’s out of control, and it’s… We need to get that under control, and here in Missouri, the, uh… the way that electoral delegates are done for president, basically just disenfranchises the Democrats, because it’s a majority – simple majority take all on the electoral delegates, you know. So if you vote Democrat, and 49% of the state votes Democrat – the others is Republican – they all go to the Republicans in most cases. We don’t have to vote with the people anyway, according to the rules, if I understand it correctly, which is wrong in the first place. But it needs to be split by the popular vote, because otherwise, 49% of this big state is disenfranchised, basically. You know, and that’s what our government started about – [when] we first tried to break away from England – was taxation without representation. It was a simple fact, you know, and that’s what we’re dealing with…”

The No Kings rally is being held in front of an outlet mall that decades ago hosted large shopping chains like Gap, Nike, Levi’s, Izod, and Rue 21. The Warrenton Outlet Center now appears to almost exclusively host local businesses like a bar and grill, a license office, a mixed-martial arts gym, an antique store, and a church named Misfits for Jesus. The empty spaces left by the big businesses and shrinking mainline Protestant congregations that began their exodus decades ago appear to have been filled with local brands and Protestant evangelicalism.

Warren County, Missouri – County Membership Report (1990 – 2020)

Further down the line, thirty-two year old Kyle is less focused on policy changes and more focused on the general feel of his political environment… “It’s a very red area, so I feel like any sort of leftist, liberal, however you want to state it, you know, views, need a little bit of extra representation out here… hopefully let some other folks know that, you know, they’re not the only ones out here.”

Seventy-four year old Dave is in favor of impeachment: “The more times we come out against this guy, the more the voice is going to get heard. And the guy I’m talking about is the Donald Trump… He’s a liar. He knows nothing about the job he’s trying to do… He has no business being a president, at all… and we just need to get him out of there.”

On the first Saturday of Spring, many of these protesters appeared to be craving a new season of politics. How many freezes does old-man-winter have left? And how deeply will the political winds of authoritarianism impact the future of government in these United States? No one really knows.

This small sample of people attending Warren County’s No King’s protest were advocating for a less violent and more representative State and Federal government. They were also seeking to feel less alone in a world inundated by screens and partisan politics. In a rural county with a growing county seat, more face-to-face nonpartisan conversations may be exactly what this community needs.

Sources:

Dijkstra, L., Hamilton, E., Lall, S., & Wahba, S. (2025, March 31). How do we define cities, towns, and rural areas? World Bank Blogs. https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/sustainablecities/how-do-we-define-cities-towns-and-rural-areas

Grammich, C., Dollhopf, E. J., Gautier, M. L., Houseal, R., Jones, D. E., Krindatch, A., Stanley, R., & Thumma, S. (2023). 2020 U.S. Religion Census: Religious congregations & adherents study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. https://www.usreligioncensus.org/sites/default/files/2023-10/2020_US_Religion_Census.pdf

Missouri Secretary of State [MSOS]. (2020). Registered voters in Missouri 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2026, from https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/registeredvoters/2020

Missouri Secretary of State [MSOS] (n.d.). Previous election results. Retrieved March 28, 2026, from https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/resultsandstats/previouselections

theARDA. (2026). Membership reports. The Association of Religion Data Archives (the ARDA). https://www.thearda.com/us-religion/census/congregational-membership?y=1990&y2=2020&t=0&c=29219#REPORT

Underwood, J. (2024, November 5). Over 20,000 Warren County voters cast their ballots in the general election. Warren County Record. https://www.warrencountyrecord.com/stories/over-20000-warren-county-voters-cast-their-ballots-in-the-general-election,124262

US Census Bureau [USCB]. (2021, December 16). Growth in small town America. Census.gov. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2015/05/growth-in-small-town-america.html#:~:text=Places%20with%20populations%20smaller%20than,the%20Midwest%20and%20the%20South.

U.S. Census Bureau [USCB]. (n.d.). QuickFacts: Warren County, Missouri. Retrieved March 29, 2026, from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/warrencountymissouri/PST045224

U.S. Census Bureau [USCB]. (n.d.). QuickFacts: Warrenton city, Missouri. Retrieved March 29, 2026, from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/warrentoncitymissouri/BPS030224

Appendix I: Darlene and Alice’s Interview

Josh: So, can I get your name?

Darlene: “I’m Darlene.”

Josh: All right, Darlene, how old are you, Darlene?”

Darlene: “I’m 70.”

Josh: “And what brings you out to the No Kings?”

Darlene: “Um, I care about the rule of law, and that we follow the Constitution. I want to see three branches of government that function, so that we have a balance, and no one branch or individual takes over rulership.”

Josh: “And is this your first No Kings rally?”

Darlene: “I’ve been to all three.”

Josh: “All three. Where were the other ones that you went to?”

Darlene: The 1st one, I went to Jefferson City. The 2nd one, I believe I was in Franklin County.

Josh: “Okay, now here in Warrenton…”

Darlene: “This is the first one in Warrenton.”

Josh: Yeah, yeah. Awesome. Thank you, Darlene.

Josh: “Appreciate that. Hi. Hey, do you mind if I get your name and age, or…”

Alice: “My name is Alice, and I’m 57.”

Josh: “And what brings you out today?”

Alice: “I’m here because I’m tired of our government acting cruelly, not following the Constitution, treating people inhumanly, not giving people habeas corpus. And also, I’m here because of the corruption that is in plain view in our government.”

Josh: “And this is your first one, or have you been to others?”

Alice: “I’ve been to others.

Josh: Okay. And where were you at?”

Alice: “Mid rivers Mall. And, in Troy.”

Josh: “Yeah, nearby. Okay, thank you. Appreciate it, Alice.”

Appendix II: Scott’s Interview

Scott: “So, my name’s Scott.”

Josh: “Scott.”

Scott: “And I’m 64 years old. I’m a union machinist. So I want to protect the rights of our members.”

Josh: “Uh, what union?”

Scott: “Machine shooting, District 9. President of District 9, and local 777 in St. Louis. 30 year member. Not ready to retire, ready to fight. Continue the fight. Been on a lot of strike lines. I was telling this young man right here. This is our battle flag that I’ve had on many strike lines. So you gotta have a battle flag. You know what I mean? Especially do something like this.”

Josh: “And it’s an American flag, so.”

Scott: “It’s an American flag. I mean, and it’s American made. So, [laughs] it’s not like the MAGA hats that are made in China. You know what I’m saying?”

Josh: “Yeah.”

Scott: “Well, no, I mean, we got to get out here. We’re going to stand up. I mean, this is our constitutional right. You know, and everything in Washington, they haven’t drained the swamp. They’ve added to it. You know what I mean? At the end of the day.”

Josh: “Is this the first rally that you’ve been to, or you’ve been to many, I’m assuming?”

Scott: “I’ve been to quite a few. So… But I live here in Warren County, so this is very convenient.”

Josh: “Yeah.”

Scott: “This is what we’re trying to do. This is a very red district. county, I should say, and we’d like to change that. Because we have a lot of union density. There’s a lot of skilled trades workers that live here, but yet the county always votes right. Right? Which isn’t helping us.”

Josh: “Yeah.”

Scott: “You know, it’s not helping the cause.”

Josh: “What are some of the, like, main things that you would like to see change? besides, besides the way that the boat’s going, like, practically what policy issues are, um, you know, practical…”

Scott: “So, like in the state of Missouri?”

Josh: “Yeah, like, you know, so I’m assuming there’s a lot of issues that you want practical change on as a trade unionist, so…”

Scott: “Right. Right. So one of the things that right now in the state of Missouri is we’re working on the MO voters campaign is we’re working, along with the AFL-CIO and all the different labor councils, is the Missouri Initiative Petition, right? So, we have a right in the state of Missouri, that if our elected officials enact the law, that the constituents of the state don’t vote on, we have the power to overturn it through the initiative petition process, right? So, uh, we did that in 2018 with the right to work when Eric Greitens shoved that up our ass, and we said, ‘Oh, hold on a minute.’ We went and got the necessary signatures we needed in 60 counties, right? Which is what we’re trying to do. And we overturned that. The majority of Missourians voted 64% of Missourians came out, saying, Yeah, we don’t want the right to work in this state. That’s twice I had to fight that battle. I fought it in ’78, and I fought it in 2018 again. But right now, what they’re wanting to do, the legislators, down in Jeff City, are wanting to raise it to 80% of the counties, you got to get signatures in. So what does that do? That makes our job harder, right? Makes it tougher to overturn the will of the people, right? And when I tell people this, it’s very simple. Last year, the majority of Missourians, red and blue, voted for Medicaid expansion, right? With one signature, our famous governor, Kehoe, vetoed it. Took the will of the people right out of it. That’s wrong. That is dead wrong. So, you know, we gotta stand up to him. And if nobody does, I mean, they’re just gonna walk all over us and continue doing what they’re doing [and] what we’re seeing not only on the national level, but on the state level.”

Josh: “Well, thank you, sir. Thanks for letting me interview you today.”

Scott: “Appreciate you.”

Josh: “Appreciate you.”

Scott: “Well, thanks for coming out. I’m gonna give you one of my cards.”

Appendix III: Larry’s Interview

Larry: “Uh, retired, union carpenter.”

Josh: “Larry, how old are you? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Larry: “Seventy-eight.”

Josh: “And what brings you out today, Larry?”

Larry: “Uh, the need for restoring a democracy. This is not, this is no longer about politics. I’m not here to be a Democrat. I’m here to be a patriot. We need a rule of law. We need, uh, some kind of control over who runs for president. We need minimum requirements, and our presidential candidates need to be mentally evaluated, psychiatrically evaluated, before they’re allowed to run for office. We got a lunatic a freakin just mad man. His ego grows every time he does something. It’s out of control, and it’s… We need to get that under control, and here in Missouri, the, uh… the way that electoral delegates are done for president, basically just disenfranchises the Democrats, because it’s a majority – simple majority take all on the electoral delegates, you know. So if you vote Democrat, and 49% of the state votes Democrat, the others is Republican. They all go to the Republicans in most cases. We don’t have to vote with the people anyway, according to the rules, if I understand it correctly, which is wrong in the first place, but it needs to be split by the popular vote, because otherwise, 49% of this big state is disenfranchised, basically. You know, and that’s what our government started about. We first tried to break away from England, was taxation without representation. It was a simple fact, you know, and that’s what we’re dealing with in a lot of these red states. They just take the Democratic ballots and drop them in the trash. You know, they’re [laughs], you know. And we need to get it back to where – and that divides the people, you know, when you get it that close, and all of it goes to one side or the other, that just continually divides people against each other, makes enemies out of people that wouldn’t be enemies otherwise, you know, because they see, well, you know, they voted that way, and I voted this way. My vote didn’t count at all. Theirs did though, you know? Well, that’s not what our government is supposed to be about. You know, it’s supposed to be about equal representation amongst the people. And there’s so many things. One of the other things, the biggest thing that got us to the point where we’re at right now is when our Supreme Court ruled that the corporation could put as much money as it wanted, just like an individual, into politics. That, right there, ran it all off the rails, and you started getting people…”

Josh: “Citizens United rulings?”

Larry: “Yeah, uh huh. Yeah – as much money as you want. Just pour it in there. As if, you know, that’s still gonna be a straight up election. You and I know it’s not. It cannot be. It cannot be. Money takes over like that then the law gets broke, you know, get the breakdown in the rule of law, because the rich folks think, ‘Well, you know, I’m rich, I can elect Trump, you know, I can hire a bunch of lawyers. I can appeal it, you know, if they rule against me in the court, I can just keep appealing it, you know? And, uh, it just, it’s government by the rich, for the rich, and we’ve had it for several years. You know, it needs to be stopped. Like I said, I’m not here to be a Democrat. I’m here to be a patriot. You know, we need to get out and get more talk with these other people. A lot of them are just ignorant. They’re not intentionally – they’re not for the stuff that I’m talking about. They just don’t know enough about it to know that’s what’s going on. They’re just dumb. They’re just… [laughs]. You know, I’m sorry, but… no, they’re just – not dumb… Ignorant, ignorant is the word. Uneducated. They don’t realize what’s going on and why it’s going on. You know, they need somebody to get out and talk to MAGA voters, say, ‘Look, man, join us, you know? Join us. We’re fighting for our country. you know, for democracy. If, you know, if it turns around on you next year, and we start playing by the same rules that they’re playing by now, you ain’t gonna like it then. You know what I mean? Even if you disagree with us, you know, you’ve got to have the people in charge, not the politicians. It’s got to be there, got to be that way.’

Josh: “Do you feel like it’s a dynamic of one side, kind of monopolizes things, and then the other side monopolizes things, or how do you perceive the parties right now? Are you disgruntled with both, or are you feeling like, you know, one’s way better than the other?”

Larry: “Well, right now, the Democrats are calling for, you know, the oust of the man that does – is just not competent for the job, and his whole party, you know, the Congress just backs him 100% on everything. You can’t have that, you know, the Congress is supposed to be a checkpoint, you know – to get an idiot trying to do idiotic things – they’re supposed to stand up to him, not just back down and say, you know, good deal, you know, cheer him on. You know, we got to restore democratic principles, and, uh, I’m not especially for the Democratic Party, truthfully. I’m really not. But on the other hand, if you look at the choice right now, it’s practical for me. You know, there’s only two major parties that, in here, that could possibly run the country, you know, and you gotta choose. You have to choose. It’s the lesser of two evils. And it’s been that way for years. I think it’s been that way for 15, 20 years, truthfully. It has the lesser or two evils, almost every time. And when you have to do that, that’s terrible. You know, you have to say… It’s like deciding – I’m a carpenter – it’s like deciding whether you want to smash your left thumb with your big 20 ounce hammer, or smash your right thumb [laughs] with your big 20 ounce hammer.”

Josh: “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Choose your thumb, huh?”

Larry: “Yeah. So it’s just… There’s so much needs to be changed, but basically, basic points are, we need to get the money out of politics, do away with that corporation, the Citizens United, or whatever they call it. It’s not citizens of United. It’s rich united, and to get your government by the rich, for the rich and of the rich, and that’s how it works, you can’t. You can’t run from an office unless you’re rich. Truthfully, you know, you got to have so much money to run. And that needs to be taken under consideration, too. I don’t understand why, in a country as big as this one, we couldn’t have a dedicated TV station, where a man who wanted to run for office, even a poor man, could say, I want to run, and if you met certain criteria, of course, you know, basic stuff, they would let him have some time on this channel. No money, nothing. Just go up there, and it’s free. Give it, give people, you’re opinion about what’s going on, what you think you need to do to fix it, and see what happens, you know? You know what I mean?

Josh: “Yeah.”

Larry: “People, it shouldn’t matter how much money you’ve got. You know what I mean? It really shouldn’t. I mean, Lincoln wasn’t, I don’t think, a rich man, you know?”

Josh: “I think you’d have a long line of people wanting to be on that TV station.”

Larry: “Well, you’d have to have, it would have to be a lot of, uh, preliminary, you know, and that would need to be done by a nonpartisan committee, too, you know what I mean? So, you didn’t get partisan politics into it…”

Josh: “Where would you find them?”

Larry: “Well, you know, I guess pick them at random and hope they’re nonpartisan.”

Josh: “Thanks, Larry. I appreciate you.”

Larry: “Yeah, I know. Sorry I rattle on…”

Josh: “Thanks a bunch. It’s all good. I appreciate your interview. Thank you.”

Appendix IV: Kyle’s Interview

Josh: “So, first name and age.”

Kyle: “Uh, Kyle, 32.”

Josh: “What brings you out Kyle?”

Kyle: “Try to support causes that I believe in. Just, you know, show up and try to make it visible.”

Josh: “And specifically any reasons why, uh, a No King’s rally in Warren County would bring you out?”

Kyle: “It’s a very red area, so I feel like any sort of leftist, liberal, however you want to state it, you know, views, need a little bit of extra representation out here.”

Josh: “Are you from this area?”

Kyle: “I am, yeah. Yeah, hopefully let some other folks know that, you know, they’re not the only ones out here.”

Josh: “Yeah. Uh, any specific issues that, like, policy issues that you’re concerned about?”

Kyle: “I’m honestly not the most well versed in the details, you know, just the general… What’s the word I want to look for? The general views of the administrations. I don’t agree with, you know, there’s a lot of hatred being thrown around, a lot of groups being silenced, and I don’t agree with that. So, I’m trying to make a little bit of noise, I guess.”

Josh: “Thanks, Kyle. I appreciate it.”

Kyle: “Yeah, likewise, I’m not the most eloquent guy in the world, but…”

Josh: “No, it’s all good. You know, I’m just curious about why, you know, people come out and everybody’s got a different reason. Everybody’s got usually something similar, but slightly different, you know, so different takes. So thank you. I appreciate that.”

Kyle: “Yeah, yeah. Not a problem.”

Bystander: Put me down for whatever he said.

Josh: [laughs] “Okay, thank you, sir.”

Appendix V: Dave’s Interview

Josh: “You can do whatever you want, Dave. So Dave, what brings you out to the No Kings protest today?”

Dave: “The more times we come out against this guy, the more the voice is going to get heard. And the guy I’m talking about is the Donald Trump, and we need to keep it focused. Everybody focus on what he is doing which is screwing everything up.”

Josh: “Yeah, and of those things that you feel like he’s doing, what would stand out that you feel like needs to be focused on more?”

Dave: “Of what? His policies are just what he’s doing? He’s a liar. He knows nothing about the job he’s trying to do. And he’s just a, he’s a meathead, to use my father’s terminology. He’s a meathead. He has no business being a president, at all. And I don’t agree with the damn thing he has done, and we just need to get him out of there.”

Josh: “So, are you in favor of impeachment, then? Would that be a route that you would want?”

Dave: “Yes. I think he should be impeached or gotten rid of on the grounds where he is unqualified to do his job.”

Josh: “Is this the first No Kings rally you’ve been to?”

Dave: “No, this is the second one.”

Josh: “Okay. Yeah. You mind me asking, where was the other one that you went to?”

Dave: “Uh, in, uh… I don’t know, what was that Town and Country?”

Bystander: “West County.”

Dave: “Yeah.”

Josh: “All right, guys, thank you. Appreciate you, Dave.”

Dave: “Sure.”