St. Louis Couple Who Brandished Guns At Protesters Indicted On Unlawful Weapons Charges

The St. Louis couple who trained guns at Black Lives Matter protesters marching on their private street toward the Missouri mayor’s home during a civil rights demonstration in June was indicted by a grand jury on Tuesday with unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with evidence charges, their lawyer said.

The indictment comes three months after St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner had charged Mark McCloskey, 63, and Patricia McCloskey, 61, with the felony unlawful use of weapon about the June 28 incident in which Patricia was caught on camera waving a handgun, while Mark appeared to threaten a group of Black protesters with a semi-automatic rifle.

Al Watkins, an attorney for the couple, confirmed the charges to the Associated Press. However, it wasn’t immediately clear what evidence prosecutors presented to the grand jury to acquire the tampering charge.

Gardner, while announcing the charges for the couple, said "It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner -- that is unlawful in the city of St. Louis." There were implications that the couple would face assault charges as the appeared to be peaceful. The McCloskeys said the protesters broke into a gate marked with "No Trespassing" and "Private Street" signs placed outside their lavish West Central End home, prompting them to draw their firearms.

The commotion between the McCloskeys and the protesters sparked a national debate over the rights of property owners when confronted with perceived threats. Some argued they had every right to defend their property, while many accused them of racism. Nine people involved in the protest were charged with misdemeanor trespassing, but the charges against them were later dropped.

The McCloskeys, during their appearance at the Republican National Convention in August argued that they were exercising their Second Amendment right to bear arms, and were protected by Missouri’s castle doctrine law which allows the use of deadly force against intruders.

Mark told CNN in July that he was "in imminent fear they (protesters) would run me over, kill me." The White House and Missouri Governor Mike Parson, a Republican, have defended the couple after they faced charges, with Parson saying he would pardon the couple should a jury indicts them.