Missouri Gov. Pardons St. Louis Couple Of Crimes Related To Standoff With BLM, McCloskey: ‘I’d Do It Again’
Missouri Governor Michael Parson pardoned Mark and Patricia McCloskey — the St. Louis couple who drew their guns at Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters reportedly trespassing private property last summer.
The Democratic governor said on Tuesday that the pardon of the McCloskey’s came along with other sets of pardons and commutations he did, although the governor gave no further statement regarding the McCloskeys’ case.
Missouri's governor has pardoned Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who gained notoriety for pointing guns at social justice demonstrators as they marched past the couple's St. Louis home last year. https://t.co/qSe9aQRfwr
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 3, 2021
In June, the McCloskeys pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges stemming from their altercation with Black Lives Matter demonstrators last year.
Mark McCloskey was earlier fined $750 after pleading guilty to fourth-degree assault, while Patricia McCloskey was fined $2,000 after pleading guilty to second-degree harassment.
The husband and wife also decided to give-up the firearms used in the incident.
The McCloskeys confronted dozens of Black Lives Matter protesters in June last year — after the demonstrators entered a private, gated community in St. Louis while marching towards the home of then-Mayor Lyda Krewson.
No guns were fired and no one was harmed during the incident although the McCloskeys and the protestors exchanged angry remarks outside their home.
The Associated Press reported that Mark McCloskey, according to a statement on Tuesday, said that he would act the same way should he be put in the same situation again.
“Today we are incredibly thankful that Governor Mike Parson righted this wrong and granted us pardons,” Mark McCloskey said.
The McCloskeys attorney Joel Schwartz, also noted that the husband and wife were “thrilled” with the governor’s move to pardon them.
“They want to put this episode of their lives behind them and focus on Mark’s campaign for senate,” Schwartz said according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“As Mark McCloskey has stated, if he faced the same situation again, he would conduct himself in the same manner, and he feels he’s been vindicated by the governor’s pardon.”
“I’d do it again,” he said from the courthouse steps in downtown St. Louis. “Any time the mob approaches me, I’ll do what I can to put them in imminent threat of physical injury because that’s what kept them from destroying my house and my family,” ABC 13News reported.
McCloskey running for Senate
Mark McCloskey began a candidacy for the US Senate in May after he was launched to national spotlight for his encounter with Black Lives Matter demonstrators.
McCloskey has used the incident in June 2020 to fundraise and boost his reputation among Republican voters.
On the top page of his campaign website, he displays one of the viral pictures of him confronting demonstrators. He is carrying a rifle next to his wife, who is holding a pistol.
“I’ve always been a Republican, but I’ve never been a politician,” McCloskey said earlier. “God came knocking on my door last summer disguised as an angry mob.”
In his campaign announcement video, McCloskey added: “When the mob came to destroy my house and kill my family, I took a stand against them. Now, I’m asking for the privilege to take that stand for all of us.”
An angry mob marched to destroy my home and kill my family, I took a stand to defend them.
I am a proven fighter against the mob
When the mob comes to destroy our home, our state, our nation— I’ll defend it
I will NEVER BACK DOWN
Help me FIGHT BACK ➡️ https://t.co/8N8o1yxN6C pic.twitter.com/jR8ieWdkCc
— Mark McCloskey (@mccloskeyusa) May 19, 2021
In October, a grand jury charged the McCloskeys with unauthorized use of a firearm and tampering with physical evidence, both felony offenses.
The prosecution against the McCloskeys was pursued by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who was subsequently reprimanded by a court for exploiting the high-profile case to generate campaign donations for her own reelection. She was finally excluded from the case by the judge.
“Ms. Gardner has every right to rebut criticism, but it appears unnecessary to stigmatize the defendant — or even mention him — in campaign solicitations, especially when she purports to be responding to others,” the judge said that time.
“In fact, the case law and Rules of Professional Conduct prohibit it.”
Governor Parson said in October last year that he will pardon the McCloskeys.
USA: Missouri Gov. Michael Parson is set to pardon Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the couple who pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home after the pair was indicted on charges related to the incident. pic.twitter.com/lWooMSxESg
— Apex World News (@apexworldnews) October 8, 2020
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