Missouri Supreme Court

Audio: Missouri Supreme Court deciding whether local leaders can spend public money on ballot measures

The Missouri Supreme Court is considering whether local elected officials should be banned from spending public money to campaign in support of or opposition to candidates and ballot measures. Some St. Louis County area elected officials filed a lawsuit in 2019 saying the state law violates the free speech rights of local leaders. Attorney Paul […]

Piglets in barn (Photo courtesy Diego San)

Smithfield withdraws request for CAFO permits environmentalists criticized as too lax

(Missouri Independent) – The global meat producer operating some of Missouri’s largest industrial hog operations has withdrawn requests to convert 10 of its permits to what environmental groups say would be more lenient ones. Smithfield Foods Inc., which has a history of environmental violations in Missouri, operates some of the largest concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, in the […]

Animal Abuse (dog) Generic

Following Missouri lawsuit, Hickory County dog breeder barred from commercial breeding, dogs rescued

Following a lawsuit filed by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, a Hickory County dog breeder has been barred from operating as a commercial dog breeder forever, and dogs in her possession were seized and rescued by the Missouri Department of Agriculture. “This is another great result in our important work with the Missouri Department of […]

Governor Parson signs a bill into law at his desk

Governor Parson issues Executive Order 21-10 fighting federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates

Governor Mike Parson announced that he has issued Executive Order 21-10 to protect the individual rights of Missourians against overreaching federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates.  Governor Parson released the following statement regarding the Order: “As the Governor of the State of Missouri, I stand with concerned Missourians and will do all I can to stop federal […]

Video: Hawley rips Garland over attempt to weaponize FBI against parents, calls for his resignation

At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley ripped Attorney General Merrick Garland over his attempt to weaponize the Federal Bureau of Investigation against parents and called for his resignation. Senator Hawley questioned the Attorney General on a memo from the District of Montana U.S. Attorney’s office outlining federal causes of action prosecutors […]

A gavel and a name plate with the engraving Lawsuit

Missouri Attorney General announces he will file suit over federal contractor vaccine mandate

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced his intention to file suit to halt the vaccine mandate for federal contractors and federally contracted employees:   “My Office has been a national leader in pushing back on federal overreach and mask mandates, stopping power-hungry bureaucrats in their tracks. The Biden Administration is seeking to use the full […]

Abortion Graphic

Missouri Attorney General joins suit against Biden Administration to stop federal funding of abortions

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt yesterday joined a lawsuit brought by Ohio and ten other states against the Biden Administration, challenging a federal rule change that would allow taxpayer dollars to be used to encourage and support abortions. The lawsuit, filed yesterday in the U.S. Southern District of Ohio, seeks to reinstate rule changes made […]

MO AG trip to Texas Border - photo courtesy Missouri Attorney General’s Office

Campaign picked up costs of Missouri Attorney General’s trip to U.S.-Mexico border

(Missouri Independent) – After vehemently defending having the state pick up the tab for Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s trip to the U.S.-Mexico border last week, Schmitt’s office clarified over the weekend that the state only covered travel costs for a staff member. Chris Nuelle, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, said Schmitt’s U.S. […]

Audio: Hawley pushing back against Biden’s vaccine mandates because of how religious exemptions are handled

Senator Josh Hawley is pushing against President Biden’s vaccine mandates – because of how they handle religious exemptions. The guidance also allows agencies to determine if “the nature of the employee’s job may be such that no safety protocol other than vaccination is adequate.”  Hawley says there must be more of a process, even a […]

Missouri Attorney General Seal and Gavel

Missouri Attorney General Joins fight against Jefferson County Health Department and student quarantine rules

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed an amicus brief in Shannon Otto v. Jefferson County Health Department, fighting student quarantine rules put in place by the Jefferson County Department of Health. The brief argues that the quarantine rules fall under the new state law limiting health authorities’ power to enact mandates and that the rules […]