St. Louis Couple Who Went Viral Confronting BLM, Plead Guilty To Misdemeanors And Give Up Guns
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis, Missouri, couple who went viral after confronting Black Lives Matter demonstrators on their own front yard, pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and agreed to surrender their own firearms to St. Louis police on Thursday.
Despite previously pleading not guilty, the two, who were initially charged with felonies, signed a plea bargain with prosecutors earlier this month, according to local news sources. On Thursday, a court accepted the plea agreement.
Mark McCloskey pleaded guilty to a count of fourth-degree assault, which was filed in court Thursday and is a Class C misdemeanor. He was originally charged with unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with physical evidence — both felony charges,” according to a St. Louis NBC station.
“Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment, which is a Class A misdemeanor charge that was filed last month when a count of tampering with physical evidence was removed. She also was originally charged with unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with physical evidence,” the outlet noted.
Patricia McCloskey has been forced to pay $2,000 in fines and $10 to the St. Louis crime victims fund. Mark McCloskey has been told to pay $750 in fines. They were also ordered to handover the two guns they were seen carrying in a viral encounter last year. The firearms must be destroyed or made useless and sold to a collector as a historical relic, according to the couple’s lawyer.
A year ago, the mob came to my door to attack my family— I backed them down
The mob came for me, the media attacked me & prosecutors tried to punish me for defending my family
They dropped all charges, except for a claim I instilled “imminent fear” in the mob
I’d do it again. pic.twitter.com/ECPsSwa2Iw
— Mark McCloskey (@mccloskeyusa) June 17, 2021
Late last June, at the height of nationwide anti-police brutality and anti-racism riots, Mark and Patricia McCloskey encountered a group of Black Lives Matter marchers. The march was headed to the home of then-Mayor Lyda Krewson, who lived in the same private, gated neighborhood as the McCloskeys.
The McCloskeys seemed to be singled out by Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who charged the couple with charges connected to the dispute. She also allegedly sent fundraising emails referencing the couple both before and after charging them, which a court said created “the appearance of impropriety and jeopardized[d] the defendant’s right to a fair trial” last December.
She said she was utilizing her email list to refute media-created falsehoods about the McCloskey event. Gardner was later removed from the case when a judge in St. Louis disagreed.
The judge said of Gardner’s emails, “Ms. Gardner has every right to rebut criticism, but it appears unnecessary to stigmatize defendant – or even mention him – in campaign solicitations, especially when she purports to be responding to others. In fact, the case law and Rules of Professional Conduct prohibit it.”
The two went on television shows to explain their actions and to speak out against a violent part of the Black Lives Matter movement, which they felt was present. Mark McCloskey recently declared his candidacy for the United States Senate in May.
Download ‘The Scoop TV’ video streaming app, the Conservative Alternative to Netflix!
- If you have an iPhone, click here to download the iPhone app from the Apple App Store.
- Or if you have an Android phone, click here to download the Android app from the Google Play Store.
