Woman Removed From Wentzville Alderman Meeting Over New Sign In Local Government Chamber

WENTZVILLE, MO – After a woman was escorted out of a Wentzville Board of Alderman meeting, there is a renewed conversation about the city’s decision to put up an “In God We Trust” sign in their government chambers. Sally Hunt says she spoke up at the February meeting to voice her concerns about the sign.
“It’s offensive to a lot of people, I’m outspoken about it but there are a lot of people like me that are afraid to speak out publicly,” said Hunt.
After she gave her speech at the meeting, Mayor Nick Guccione questioned her statements and when she countered his statements, police escorted her out.
In a video from the meeting when she questioned it, the mayor said, “Your time was up, you’re from Maryland Heights.”
Hunt is from Maryland Heights. And despite that, she is still allowed to speak at the Wentzville meeting. She said the actions at the meeting show why people in the city are afraid to speak up.
But Mayor Guccione says he has only heard from two residents upset by the sign. He says the decision to put the sign in the new city hall was not about religion.
“It is about the national motto, it is about promoting patriotism, we’re a very patriotic community,” said the Mayor.
The Mayor says their lawyers looked into the legality and believes they are in the right to have the sign in the aldermanic chambers. But he says he has heard from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a nationwide organization that has threatened many cities and school boards with lawsuits over similar signs.
“We’re not looking for any court battles by any means but we did do our due diligence,” said the Mayor who has no plans to take the sign down.