Trump Jr. Targets Missouri Activist in Latest Attack on Gerrymander Opponents

As Missourians fight to stave off a GOP gerrymander by putting it to a statewide vote, the President of United States’ eldest son entered the fray Wednesday, attacking the referendum’s organizer on social media.

In response, the organizer, Richard Von Glahn, told Democracy Docket that backers of the ballot measure won’t back down, insisting: “Our democracy is ours. It isn’t theirs.”

Von Glahn spoke not long after being targeted online by Donald Trump Jr.

“Leftist nut job Richard Von Glahn is trying to STEAL a GOP house seat in Missouri through an unlawful referendum,” Trump Jr. wrote on the social media platform X, adding a link to a volunteer sign-up form for a group called Patriot Grassroots.

The post was just the latest effort to intimidate opponents of President Donald Trump’s push to hand the 2026 midterm election to Republicans by redrawing state congressional maps.

But Von Glahn, the executive director of advocacy group People Not Politicians, says it won’t stop Missourians from fighting the gerrymander.

“We’re not going to be bullied by these people,” von Glahn told Democracy Docket. “It’s not going to happen.” 

Trump Jr.’s intimidation effort is only the most recent GOP strategy to undermine the referendum. The Republican Party has already tried to reject signatures, propose misleading ballot language and challenge Missourians’ right to hold the referendum vote at all. 

“We’re leading a statewide initiative in Missouri to stop the Communist Party’s very own Richard Von Glahn, who is using George Soros’s dark money to fund an unlawful referendum that would STEAL a Missouri GOP House Seat,” the Patriot Grassroots website reads. 

In comments to Democracy Docket, Von Glahn said that Trump Jr.’s focus on him misses the point of the referendum: Missouri voters oppose the gerrymander and are angry.

“I am irrelevant to this campaign,” von Glahn said. “There are thousands of Missourians volunteering, talking to one another. My signature is going to be one of nearly 300,000 that get turned in next week.” 

The organizer also blasted Trump for claiming the referendum aims to “steal” a congressional seat from Republicans.

“Missouri’s congressional seats belong to the people of Missouri,” Von Glahn said. “That is the point. Our democracy is ours. It isn’t theirs. We’re not taking anything. We are protecting our voice and our power.”

Missourians have been organizing a citizen’s veto referendum since Republicans passed a gerrymandered congressional map in September at the request of President Trump, who is pressuring GOP-controlled states across the country to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 election. 

To get the petition on the ballot, Von Glahn and other organizers have until Dec. 11 to submit more than 106,000 signatures to the Missouri Secretary of State’s office. 

But Republicans have besieged referendum organizers with new hurdles at every turn, including sending out an intimidating mass text message to Missouri voters that warned against signing the petition. They also launched an investigation into the firm gathering signatures, accusing it — without providing evidence — of hiring undocumented immigrants.

In recent weeks, redistricting battles across the country have taken an increasingly aggressive tone. 

In Indiana, a group of six Republicans who pushed back against Trump’s call to gerrymander have faced threats and harassment. GOP lawmakers eventually gave in and agreed to convene and vote on redistricting. An Indiana House committee voted Tuesday to approve a new map that would likely eliminate two congressional districts currently held by Democrats.

On Wednesday, state Sen. Kyle Walker, one of the Republicans who faced threats, announced that he would not seek reelection in 2026. It is unclear whether he continues to oppose redistricting.