Missouri governor pardons St. Louis couple Mark, Patricia McCloskey after guilty pleas in gun-waving incident
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who made headlines for bringing out their guns as BLM rioters marched outside their home last year, were pardoned by Missouri Governor Mike Parson.
The two lawyers pleaded guilty to misdemeanors for the June 2020 incident and were also fined. Mark McCloskey, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault for threatening someone with an AR-15 rifle and was fined $750.
His wife, Patricia pleaded guilty to harassment and was ordered to pay $2,000. The couple did not lose their right to bear arms.
In an interview with Fox News, Mark McCloskey said:
“It’s a correction of something that should have never happened in the first place.”
“Mark McCloskey, who announced in May that he was running for a U.S. Senate seat in Missouri, was unapologetic after the plea hearing.
“I’d do it again,” he said from the courthouse steps in downtown St. Louis.”https://t.co/4L6KRmtqar— Bianca Beltrán (@KMBCBianca) August 3, 2021
The couple was both praised and vilified after they went viral for pointing their guns at the rioters who forced their way into a private gated community.
On that day, the BLM supporters were making their way towards the home of ex-Mayor Lyda Krewson following the death of George Floyd.
The incident pitted Second Amendment and property-rights supporters against BLM activists. The lawyer couple was praised in conservative circles and even spoke on the first night of the 2020 Republican National Convention.
Kimberly Gardner, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney, put forth charges for weapons and evidence tampering against the couple but was legally removed from the case after the defense argued she took advantage of the prosecution in a fundraising email to constituents.
Mark McCloskey, who recently announced he would be for running a Missouri U.S. Senate seat as a Republican, said his situation was part of a trend where conservatives are being sued for minor incidents while looters, rioters and other criminals are being left to wreak havoc unpunished.
A number of BLM rioters were issued citations for trespassing in connection with the incident but prosecutors dropped the cases.
A couple has come out of their house and is pointing guns at protesters in their neighborhood #StLouis #lydakrewson pic.twitter.com/ZJ8a553PAU
— Daniel Shular (@xshularx) June 29, 2020
The McCloskeys’ lawyer said the rioters broke down a gate to get on the private street and made threats to them.
Prosecutors, however, said they were peaceful.
“If you’ve got an ‘R’ behind your name, you’re subject to one kind of justice system and if you have a ‘D,’ you’re subjected to another,” the lawyer said.
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