In Westport, there is a massive “KC Superman” mural. However, Michael Wheeler, a well-known local personality, asserts that the retail, business, and entertainment sectors have permanently barred him.
The jogger and evangelist completed two days of a four-day jail term that was reduced earlier this month. The Westport CID cited Wheeler for trespassing in 2022 and 2023, leading to five charges.
However, Wheeler, 73, is now facing two fresh accusations brought on September 12, just as he was about to be freed from prison the following day.
The Westport Business League says it does not prohibit religious expression, but Wheeler claims his problems began when he traded his cap for a crucifix.
In 2017, during a ceremony to unveil the Westport mural featuring him, Wheeler shared his journey from being an ordinary jogger in Kansas City to becoming a dedicated crusader.
“When I saw all the shootings and riots happening, I thought, ‘This is a job for Superman,'” according to him.
Every Kansas City resident and suburbanite, according to Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, has a story about seeing Wheeler in a VICE Local Legends episode that will air in 2021.
He sent the same message whether he was jogging in the rain in Kansas City or outside Super Bowls.
“All my life, I wanted to be a light, bring people together, and spread love.” That’s what I’m all about,” Wheeler explained.
Two weeks ago, authorities handcuffed and arrested him in a municipal courthouse in Kansas City.
“They tied me to an iron seat. I said, ‘You all believe I’m Superman?’ Then they drove me out to Vernon County, 70 miles away,” he recalled.
In 2020, 2022, and 2023, he received citations for trespassing at a Walmart and in Westport. Wheeler, who claims to have been spreading the gospel in Westport for decades, believes it was because he was carrying a cross.
“That’s when they said I was banned for life,” Wheeler recalled.
The court reduced Wheeler’s four-day jail sentence to two days. However, he now faces two fresh trespassing charges in Westport from the same KCPD officer who issued all but one of the previous Westport citations.
Wheeler was captured on tape in Westport on Sunday, September 8, two days before his court appearance. Wheeler issued the other one on Friday morning, following his release from jail, but it remains unclear if the incident took place that day.
“I’m asking the Kansas City judges to exercise their common sense. “You’ve got to embrace me and thank God that you have someone like me,” Wheeler stated.
The KCPD directed us to the ticket, indicating that Westport’s CID authorized the trespassing summons and mentioned the district’s private roadways and walkways. A representative for the Westport Business League asserts that the privatization extends only to late-night weekend hours, and they lack the authority to trespass over public land.
With all of the difficulties visiting Westport appears to be causing the actual larger-than-life Westport figure, FOX4 asked Wheeler why he keeps returning.
“Because they’re violating my rights,” Wheeler added, “even if it means going to jail, I suppose I ought to be a role model and stand up.”
Wheeler will appear in court for the two new counts on October 17 and again on November 6.
So far, no one from Westport, Kansas City police, Kansas City, or the municipal court has confirmed whether Wheeler has been banned for life from Westport.
