Charged with Unlawful Use!
When did they use them? pic.twitter.com/gPyaxc5TwK
— Beard Vet (@Beard_Vet) July 20, 2020
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple that brandished their weapons at trespassing Black Lives Matter Protesters have been charged.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner filed charges against the couple today.
Mark and Patricia were each charged with one count of unlawful use of a weapon, flourishing. The charge is a class D felony.
They face anywhere from one to four years in prison and fines of up to $5,000 if convicted.
The McCloskeys famously drew their weapons on June 28 outside of their home as protesters pushed through a gate and entered their private community. The protesters were on their way to the home of St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson to demand her resignation.
Police executed a warrant at the home a couple of weeks later. During that search their AR-15 rifle, the one brandished by Mark McCloskey, was taken away.
It was unclear at the time what the grounds were for the confiscation. The weapon is owned legally.
ITN reached out to Gardner’s office for clarification after that incident but received no response.
“That couple had every right to protect their property. They had the ability to do that as private citizens, like everyone else. What they should not go through is a prosecutor attempting to take their constitutional rights away by filing charges against them for protecting their property,” Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said recently.
The governor seemed to downplay any real possibility of prison time for the couple, however. “I don’t think they’re going to spend any time in jail,” he said.