Reactions by Missouri politicians to the felony conviction Thursday of former President Donald Trump fell predictably along partisan lines, with Republicans condemning the verdict and Democrats expressing satisfaction or trolling their partisan foes.

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a candidate for the GOP nomination for governor, blamed President Joe Biden for the state of New York’s prosecution of Trump for hush money payments to a porn star to keep the story of their sexual liaison private.

“Joe Biden has weaponized the justice system to go after one of the greatest Presidents in our history,” Ashcroft wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The democrats are trying to steal another election.”

Ashcrof’s statement echoed Trump’s false claim that he won the 2020 election over Biden.

New York state prosecutors charged 34 felonies against the former president for each of the 11 invoices, 11 checks, and 12 ledger entries tied to reimbursing his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen.

Cohen, often referred to as Trump’s former “fixer,” said during trial testimony that he wired $130,000 to adult film star and director Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 election to silence her about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump.

The two other Republicans running for governor who are registering in primary polls also used social media to proclaim their loyalty to Trump.

“This entire trial was a political stunt and a complete weaponization of our judicial system,” Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe wrote on his X account. 

State Sen. Bill Eigel posted a video on his X account accompanied by text saying: “RIGGED! This is a disgraceful sham. I stand 100%” with Trump.

Missouri solidly backed Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 elections, giving him almost 57% of the vote in both years. His endorsement was aggressively sought by candidates in the 2022 Republican U.S. Senate primary, but he withheld any preference until the day before the election and then put out a vague statement that did not specify a single candidate.

Trump has all the votes in Missouri’s delegation to the Republican National Convention, set for July in Milwaukee, which is expected to nominate him for a third run for the White House.

On the Democratic side, glee was suppressed by those who were moved to comment.

U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Kansas City Democrat, said in a statement from his office that the conviction was not something to celebrate. It shows the strength of the American justice system, he said.

“Today is a victory for justice and the rule of law,” Cleaver said. “Just as every American is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, we are equally guaranteed that no individual, including a former president, is above accountability.”

State Rep. Doug Mann of Columbia noted the historic nature of the event – Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a felony after leaving office – and then considered the political impact:

“Will this affect the campaign?,” he wrote on X. “Likely not, but it is good to see the judicial system work and see powerful people held accountable for their misdeeds”

Democratic state Rep. Keri Ingle, a Lee’s Summit Democrat, didn’t directly comment on the verdict, instead relying on snark to express her feelings.

“So, anything interesting happen today?” Ingle wrote on X. 

From Washington, U.S. Sens. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt, both Republicans, expressed their support for Trump. 

In one post, Hawley joined Ashcroft in blaming the prosecution on Biden. In a separate post, Hawley attacked the proceedings in New York City.

“This ‘trial’ has been from beginning to end a complete and total sham, a mockery of the criminal justice system, and one of the most dangerous abuses of our political process in American history,” Hawley wrote.

Schmitt compared the trial to the staged proceedings in the Soviet Union used by Communist dictator Josef Stalin to cement his power in the 1930s. 

“The American people will reject this unprecedented lawfare in November,” Schmitt wrote.

State Rep. Sarah Unsicker, a Shrewsbury Democrat, shot back at Schmitt that he was just making things up.

“That’s a conclusion with no supporting evidence,” Unsicker wrote. “Too many Missourians know what a Soviet-style show trial is like, from their own experiences. And you’ve done  nothing to correct that.”

Other Republicans weighing in reflected the comments of the party leaders.

State Sen. Holly Rehder, a candidate for lieutenant governor, said in a statement that the case was brought in a “biased system manipulated by those who fear the power and influence of the MAGA movement.”

Attorney General Andrew Bailey called the outcome an “illegal conviction” and predicted “Americans will overwhelmingly reelect President Trump in November.

Annelise Hanshaw contributed to this report. This article has been updated since it was initially published.

A man has filed a lawsuit against the town of Sturgeon, Missouri, a little more than a week after a police officer shot and killed his small, blind, and deaf dog.

In a federal lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Nicholas Hunter alleges that Officer Myron Woodson and the city of Sturgeon violated his Fourth Amendment rights when Woodson killed Teddy, his 13-pound blind and deaf Shih Tzu, shortly after finding the dog wandering in a neighbor’s yard on May 19.

“Woodson’s warrantless seizure of Teddy was unnecessary, callous, and egregious as it was unwarranted by law and violative of Plaintiff Hunter’s most fundamental and guaranteed of constitutional rights,” Hunter’s lawsuit says. “At no time during the encounter between Teddy and Defendant Woodson did Teddy show any aggression towards Defendant Woodson. Teddy never barked, growled, or even moved towards Defendant Woodson. Instead, the small, blind and deaf dog simply kept trying to walk away, oblivious to the danger that Defendant Woodson posed to him.”

The shooting has outraged the town’s residents, especially after body camera footage obtained by a local news outlet contradicted the officer and city officials’ narrative of events. The mayor of Sturgeon resigned last Saturday evening after defending the shooting for several days, and Woodson has been placed on leave.

The shooting, though, is only an egregious example of a phenomenon that is so common that it has its own tag on Reason‘s website: “puppycide.” No one knows exactly how many dogs police shoot around the country, but every year there are more cases of wanton killings that, besides terrorizing owners, generate huge lawsuits, viral outrage, and in rare instances result in officers being fired, such as the case of an Arkansas officer who casually killed a nine-pound dog.

The incident in Sturgeon started when Teddy dug under Hunter’s backyard fence while Hunter was out at dinner and escaped, leaving its collar behind in the process. A neighbor called a county dispatch center to report that the dog had wandered into their yard and to get help finding its owner. According to Hunter’s lawsuit, the caller responded, “No, not at all,” when asked if the dog was aggressive.

The town of Sturgeon’s official Facebook page actually posted an alert on May 19 about the missing dog, along with photos of Teddy: “Do you know this doggie? Joint communications has been notified. The doggie seems in need of medical attention.”

Medical attention was not what the doggie received. Woodson arrived on the scene, and a few minutes later he shot Teddy twice.

In the meantime, Hunter had been called and told about the Facebook post. He was on his way to pick up Teddy, but arrived too late.

A day later, the city of Sturgeon posted on Facebook about the incident, defending Woodson’s decision: “Based on the behavior exhibited by the dog, believing the dog to be severely injured or infected with rabies, and as the officer feared being bitten and being infected with rabies, the SPD officer felt that his only option was to put the animal down,” Sturgeon wrote. “It was later learned that the animal’s behavior was because the animal was blind. Unfortunately, the animal’s lack of a collar or tags influenced the SPD Officer’s decision to put the animal down due to his belief that the animal was injured, sick and abandoned.”

Both Hunter and the neighbor filed complaints with the city. “I cannot stress enough that this animal was in no way a threat to others,” the neighbor, whose complaint was obtained by local news outlet ABC 17, wrote. “Woodson discharged his firearm multiple times in a residential area without a threat presenting itself, without warning.”

ABC 17 also obtained Woodson’s body camera footage, which showed that Teddy was never aggressive and didn’t bark or growl. Woodson tried to lasso Teddy with a catch pole—a common tool used in animal control—but the dog simply shook its head free of the rope and trotted away. After fumbling the catch pole several times, Woodson drew his gun and killed Teddy. ABC 17 reported that Woodson’s entire encounter with Teddy, from exiting his car to putting two bullets in the animal, lasted three minutes and six seconds.

After body camera footage was released, Sturgeon doubled down.

“The City believes that the officer acted within his authority based on the information available to him at the time to protect against possible injury to citizens from what appeared to be an injured, sick, and abandoned dog,” Sturgeon posted in a follow-up Facebook post.

Of course, it would have been embarrassing to admit the real reason that the officer resorted to using his gun: He was unable to snare a blind, deaf dog and was too poorly trained to come up with a solution besides shooting a harmless animal.

But police habitually lie about the behavior of dogs that they shoot. Dogs are almost always described in incident reports as snarling, aggressive, or lunging, and because department policies typically allow police to shoot dogs when they feel afraid for their safety, these shootings are almost always deemed justified.

For example, last year in Missouri a police officer shot a family’s dog and dumped it in a ditch. Similar to Hunter’s case, the dog had gotten loose during a storm, and a neighbor called to report it missing. In another case last year, Detroit cops killed a woman’s dog and dumped its body in a trash can. An Arkansas woman also filed a lawsuit after a cop accidentally shot her while trying to kill her Pomeranian—a toy breed that resembles a Koosh ball with legs.

This is the sort of behavior that’s flagged as sociopathic when committed by anyone who’s not represented by a police union.

And it’s the sort of behavior that can cost a small town like Sturgeon quite a lot of money, as city officials are surely fretting now. After Sturgeon’s mayor resigned last Friday, the acting mayor posted on Sturgeon’s Facebook account: “Like you we were just as appalled by what we saw. The actions of the Officer involved are not the values and beliefs of the residents of Sturgeon or the board of Alderman. Currently I have made calls to the Boone County Sheriff to meet and discuss an investigation.”

The city of Sturgeon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.