The St. Louis, Mo., couple shown in a viral video defending their home from being ransacked by protesters last month have been charged with felonies by St. Louis Prosecutor Kim Gardner, and already there is a move to nullify the charges.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey are shown in a video with guns raised in an effort to discourage a large group of people who stormed their property amid the protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis nearly two months ago.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt reportedly told Fox News that he is “seeking to have the charges against (the McCloskey’s) dismissed.” He said charging them is a “political prosecution.”
Missouri Gov. Mike Parsons has already announced he will consider pardons for both McCloskeys.
The couple insist they were acting in self-defense when they appeared outside their home with firearms. He was carrying an AR15 semi-auto rifle and she was carrying a small semi-auto handgun. Subsequently, St. Louis police confiscated both firearms.
Gov. Parsons posted a message on Twitter, declaring the charges against the couple to be “outrageous.” Missouri has a castle doctrine law and the state constitution has a provision specific about bearing arms. That provision reads, “That the right of every citizen to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property, or when lawfully summoned in aid of the civil power, shall not be questioned; but this shall not justify the wearing of concealed weapons.”
The McCloskey’s are reportedly both personal injury attorneys. Mark McCloskey has appeared on Fox News as the case has unfolded.
