ST. LOUIS — Those who want to see St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner remain in office are vowing to fight. Thursday, they reacted to a St. Louis judge’s decision to move to hold her in indirect criminal contempt of court.
The message that's ringing loud and clear from a group of people standing by Kim Gardner's side is that this is their prosecutor. They elected her and because of that, they don't want anyone affecting their vote.
"Ain't no way in the world Gardner could be held in contempt and go to jail for somebody else not showing up to court,” Willie Boyd, with End Mass Incarceration, said.
Standing outside the Missouri Attorney General's Office Thursday, some of the Circuit Attorneys devout supporters stood their ground.
"Hands off Kim Gardner. Hands off Kim Gardner,” they chanted.
They call the effort to remove her from office and the latest move from a St. Louis judge to move to hold her in indirect criminal contempt of court because she nor her staff showed up to two separate trials, a political move to see her fail. One supporter even made a comparison to a previous long-term St. Louis prosecutor.
"If Jennifer Joyce was in office, those clerks would’ve have been told to call the Circuit Attorney to get somebody in court because we got court his morning. They've weaponized the court system against Kimberly Gardner. It's plain and simple and simple as that,” Walle Amusa, with the Campaign for Human Dignity, said.
It comes as a hearing will happen in September to oust Gardner from office, spearheaded by AG Andrew Bailey who says Gardner isn't prosecuting cases, is creating a toxic work environment, and driving out staff.
As of Thursday, her office has two prosecutors to handle 470 cases.
"We also know in certain school districts, there's a shortage of teachers to the point where they have to go to four days of schooling, rather than the traditional five. We know there's a shortage of policemen in this city,” Lou Moye, with the St. Louis Chapter of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, said.
"For three years, this country and the world was paralyzed by COVID-19. There is no courthouse anywhere in this country that doesn't have a backlog of cases that they're trying to clear up,” Amusa added.
This weekend, Gardner will hold another town hall forum to address her supporters.
It will happen Saturday, April 29 at Central Baptist Church at 2842 Washington Avenue. Organizers have not yet released the time.
Then, next week, Gardner’s supporters will take a social justice caravan to Jefferson City to send their message to the state capitol.
People who want to attend are asked to meet at 7 a.m. at the 1400 block of Aubert between Dr. Martin Luther King Drive and Page Ave., which is located behind the St. Louis Metropolitan Urban League building on Kingshighway Boulevard.