Kansas City has descended into carnage and is one of America's most dangerous places. Now locals have an astonishing demand that'll change it forever... and left-wing leaders have erupted in fury
Scared residents have called on Donald Trump to bypass their own leaders and send in federal troops to a crime-ravaged city they say has turned into a 'Mad Max hellscape'.
Locals say Kansas City, Missouri - once celebrated for its barbecue, jazz clubs and famous fountains - has been overrun by marauding bike gangs, brazen shootouts and a swelling homelessness crisis that leaves them shut indoors after sundown.
Now, in a desperate plea, Kansas City homeowners and community groups are calling on Trump to go around local leadership and send in the National Guard to restore order, accusing their Democratic mayor, Quinton Lucas, of posing for photo ops while failing to protect his voters.
Kansas City now ranks among America's most dangerous cities.
While homicides fell nearly 20 percent nationwide in the first half of 2025, killings in Kansas City rose 12 percent, from 75 in the first six months of 2024 to 84 this year, according to the Major Cities Chiefs Association.
The extraordinary request for higher security comes as Trump weighs whether to expand his aggressive law-and-order campaign beyond Washington, DC, where he federalized the city's police department last month, and Chicago, the city he has threatened to target next.
Residents of Kansas City insist their city, bucking the national downward trend in violence, is far more in need of help.
'Forget about Chicago, please send the National Guard into lawless Mad Max Kansas City, and save us from a mayor and police force that cannot or will not keep order on the streets,' said long-time resident John Murphy.
Officers collect evidence from the scene of one of Kansas City's all-too-common fatal shootings
President Donald Trump is willing to go over the heads of local officials and deploy National Guard forces to fight crime in cities
Murphy, an activist with Citizens for a Responsible Government, accused Lucas of being 'worthless' and offering only platitudes while presiding over the collapse of a city of half a million people.
'For a short while, he sprung into action and posted to Facebook about clamping down on the bad guys,' Murphy told the Daily Mail.
'That only lasted two weeks, and it was on to the next item.'
The sense of fear is palpable among locals.
Homeowners said they lock their doors as gunshots echo through the night, sidewalks are strewn with garbage, and restaurant owners complained their dining rooms empty out by 8pm because people are too scared to go out.
For many, the breaking point was a shootout on August 21 in a downtown parking lot that left two people dead and three more injured.
Police said dozens of shell casings littered the asphalt, while nearby buildings were pocked with bullet holes and cars had shattered windshields.
Just weeks earlier, an ATV driver had deliberately knocked down a police officer before pulling a wheelie and injuring him again.
On Cinco de Mayo weekend, a dirt bike stuntman plowed into a woman pedestrian in the bustling restaurant district.
The mayhem recalls the dystopian Mad Max films, in which feral bike gangs roamed post-apocalyptic wastelands. Residents of Kansas City said that is now their daily reality.
Among those demanding federal intervention is Mary Nestel, 59. The lifelong resident co-founded The Real Kansas City, a volunteer group of some 2,300 Facebook members that cleans trash from parks and homeless encampments.
'Kansas City needs help since our useless mayor and council have no idea how to fix the problem,' she said.
Nestel said she and other volunteers routinely clear human waste and piles of trash from sidewalks, only to see the same scenes return within days.
Federal housing data shows Kansas City has the worst homelessness crisis in the US, with 96 percent of unhoused people sleeping in cars, alleys or tents.
Critics also blast Lucas for failing to address the lack of a city jail. Kansas City has been without its own facility since 2009, relying instead on limited space in county lockups.
The mayor's critics say under his watch, Kansas City has collapsed into 'Mad Max' chaos of street-racing gangs that terrorize locals
Kansas City police have tried to regain control of streets overrun by ATV and dirt bike gangs and sideshows
Locals liken the streets of Kansas City to the diesel-punk mayhem captured in the Mad Max franchise
This ATV rider slammed into a police officer in downtown Kansas City, leaving the cop briefly hospitalized with severe head injuries
According to Nestle, criminals have little to fear because they know there's nowhere to put them.
'Citizens voted for a new jail in April, but our elected officials keep dragging their feet,' she said. 'The excuses continue.'
Lucas, who lives in a $500,000, four-bedroom home, has previously rejected claims he has presided over Kansas City's collapse.
Speaking to the Daily Mail earlier this year, he insisted the city could 'handle this moment' and pointed to new police recruitment drives.
'More than anything, we need to make sure there are real consequences for those who are engaging in reckless and foolish behavior in downtown Kansas City,' the mayor said at the time.
'I have great confidence in the city being able to handle this moment and many others.'
City officials did not respond to more recent requests for comment.
Meanwhile, business owners say the violence is crippling, forcing diners to stay at home and tanking the local economy.
The call for National Guard troops comes as Trump ramps up his war on crime in Democrat-run cities.
Last month, he stunned Washington, DC, by federalizing its police department, sending in Guard troops, and flooding the streets with federal officers.
The move sparked lawsuits and protests, but Trump insisted the capital was in the grip of a 'public safety emergency.'
Mayor Quinton Lucas (left with megaphone) has been accused of undermining Kansas City police in the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots
Long-standing local businesses are bearing the brunt of the crime rates - watching foot traffic vanish and revenue slip away
By one metric, Kansas City has the worst rate of homelessness in the country
Kansas City police have in recent weeks stepped up efforts to regain control of the lawless streets
He has since threatened to make Chicago his next target, citing its long-standing struggles with gang violence.
Now, Kansas City residents say it is their city - not Chicago - that needs urgent intervention.
Locals have said their city's reputation as a hub for slow-smoked ribs, swinging jazz and picturesque boulevards has been eclipsed by crime scenes, encampments and the roar of illegal ATVs.
'We're just heartbroken and almost in tears about what's being destroyed right in front of us,' Nestel, an insurance agent, said.
'Our leaders are more interested in their personal agendas and filling their pockets than listening to the citizens who are affected by their poor decisions every day.'
Whether Trump will heed their pleas remains to be seen. Any deployment there would surely face blowback not only from Lucas and Democrats, but perhaps also Republicans in state offices, including Governor Mike Kehoe.
But in Kansas City's embattled neighborhoods, many say they have lost faith in their own leaders and see the White House as their only hope.
