Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the Saint Louis couple who made news when they were photographed standing in front of their home with weapons aimed at Black Lives Matter protesters, have been pardoned by Missouri Governor Mike Parson.
Parson had previously stated he would issue the pardons, explaining that the McCloskey’s were victims of an overzealous prosecution.
“Without a doubt,” he told Fox News personality Sean Hannity when asked about a pardon.
“I will do everything within the Constitution of the State of Missouri to protect law-abiding citizens and those people are exactly that,” claimed Parson.
“They are law-abiding citizens, and they’re being attacked frankly by a political process that’s really unfortunate.”
. @GovParsonMO has pardoned @mccloskeyusa and Patricia McCloskey: pic.twitter.com/tOLX9z4MLq
— Jason Rosenbaum (@jrosenbaum) August 3, 2021
RELATED: St. Louis Couple Who Defended Home Against BLM Protesters Plead Guilty To Misdemeanor Charges
Saint Louis Couple Pardoned For Charges Stemming From BLM Incident
The St. Louis couple, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, during the thick of the George Floyd/BLM riots last summer, brandished firearms after a mob of protesters had passed through a gate on to a private street.
The McCloskeys claimed that the protesters had threatened their family while chanting slogans for Black Lives Matter.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner responded to the incident by claiming the McCloskeys had met protesters with “guns and violent assault.”
The couple earlier this year pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and agreed to forfeit their weapons.
Mark McCloskey pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault, which is a Class-C misdemeanor, while Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment.
JUST IN: McCloskeys plead guilty to misdemeanors, will forfeit firearms used to confront BLM protestershttps://t.co/1kjGdBsu94 pic.twitter.com/gXbYDJaseC
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) June 17, 2021
RELATED: St. Louis Couple Whose Guns Were Seized After BLM Incident Show Off Their New AR-15s
Showed Off Their New AR-15s
Within days of pleading guilty to the misdemeanor charges and having to forfeit their firearms, the St. Louis couple was showing off a replacement AR-15 they had planned to legally purchase.
Mark McCloskey posted a picture of himself with the firearm alongside the gun store owner, and another paired up with his wife.
“Checking out my new AR!” an excited McCloskey tweeted.
Checking out my new AR! #2A #MOSen pic.twitter.com/Qa5UKupXSX
— Mark McCloskey (@mccloskeyusa) June 19, 2021
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) last year defended the St. Louis couple while marking the case as a major stand for Second Amendment rights.
“There is no question under Missouri law that the McCloskeys had the right to own and use their firearms to protect themselves from threatened violence, and that any criminal prosecution for these actions is legally unsound,” Hawley wrote in a letter at the time.
“[They said] that they were going to kill us,” Patricia McCloskey said in July 2020. “They were going to come in there. They were going to burn down the house.”https://t.co/RKoB6TJwmU
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) August 3, 2021
After pleading guilty to the lesser charges, Mark McCloskey expressed no remorse for his actions.
“One year ago, an angry mob crashed through my gate, and threatened my wife, my family and my home,” he told the Daily Caller.
“The prosecutor dropped all charges against me, except for a claim that I put other people in imminent fear of physical harm,” he continued. “That’s exactly what I did, that’s what the guns were for.”
Indeed, that’s exactly what the Second Amendment right is built upon, self-defense aimed at intimidating people with bad intentions.
“Any time the mob comes and threatens me, I’ll do the same thing again to protect my family,” McCloskey said.
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