The case of Mark and Patricia McCloskey, a white St. Louis, Missouri couple that went viral after footage showed them pointing guns at Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters, receives a new development. A grand jury has indicted the white couple, according to their attorney on Tuesday.
What We Know:
- A report by BuzzFeed News mentioned that Joel Schwartz, an attorney for the McCloskey couple, stated that his clients were indicted on charges of evidence tampering. This is on top of the existing charges of unlawful use of weapons that were originally filed by the St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner.
- So far, no other details have been revealed about the new charges. Schwartz claims to have not seen the indictment yet so the tampering charges are still in the air. Any attempts to receive comments on the matter have fallen short, such as a spokesperson for Gardner that could not be reached.
- Over the summer, the confrontation between the McCloskey couple and BLM protestors occurred when they happened to march by their residence on their way to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson’s house.
- Gardner charged each McCloskey with one felony count of unlawful use of a weapon for allegedly exhibiting weapons. Charging documents said that these weapons would have been “readily capable of lethal use, in an angry or threatening manner”.
A couple has come out of their house and is pointing guns at protesters in their neighborhood #StLouis #lydakrewson pic.twitter.com/ZJ8a553PAU
— Daniel Shular (@xshularx) June 29, 2020
- The video footage went viral on social media and showed the couple’s reaction with weapons out. The June 28th incident saw Mark in clear possession of an AR-15, while his wife Patricia held up a semiautomatic handgun next to him in front of their mansion. The video also features the couple angrily yelling at protestors walking by, none of whom were directly engaged with the couple.
- The McCloskeys’, who are personal injury attorneys, main defense at this point is that they felt threatened by the protesters in their private community. Mark made a comment outside of the courthouse in St. Louis on Tuesday criticizing officials for prosecuting them “for doing no more than exercising [their] 2nd Amendment rights,” instead of the protesters that were allegedly trespassing.
Also on Tuesday, Mark brought up the idea that national politics were, in fact, to blame for the case. He suggested a connection between Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to their prosecution. Moreover, Gov. Mike Parson stated he’ll pardon the couple should they end up getting convicted and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has filed to close the case.
