The top St. Louis city attorney is considering filing charges against a Missouri lawyer couple after they were seen brandishing weapons at protesters outside their $ 1.15 million mansion.
Mark McCloskey, 63, and his wife Patricia McCloskey, 61, were seen in multiple videos and photos Sunday night promoting an AR-15 rifle and pistol as protesters marched.
The couple claimed they “feared for our lives” after protesters allegedly broke down the door to their private community and threatened them.
The couple were the only ones to file an official police report on the confrontation that cited “threats of harm” and police said Monday they would not be charged.
However, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner announced Monday that she was working with police and prosecutors to investigate attorneys for possible threats against the crowd.
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St. Louis Circuit Lawyer Kimberly Gardner said she was “alarmed” because “the peaceful protesters were met with weapons” and that she is investigating the McCloskey couple despite police saying they were the only ones to present a report and that there would be no charges against him.
Armed homeowners Patty and Mark McCloskey stand outside their home along Portland Place and confront protesters marching to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson’s home on Sunday.
Patricia McCloskey pointed a firearm at protesters as she walked in front of her home on Sunday
“I am alarmed by the events that occurred over the weekend, where peaceful protesters were greeted with weapons and a violent assault,” Gardner said in a video statement Monday night.
“We must protect the right to protest peacefully, and any attempt to cool it down by intimidation or the threat of lethal force will not be tolerated,” he insisted.
‘Since I learned about these events this weekend, I have worked with the public and the police to investigate these tragic events.
“Make no mistake, we at the circuit attorney’s office will not tolerate the use of force against those who exercise their First Amendment rights, and we will use the full power of Missouri law to hold people accountable,” Gardner cautioned.
While the couple has had support for their actions, they have also faced a backlash.
Both are personal injury attorneys and run the McCloskey Law Center from inside their quirky home. The company’s website went offline on Monday afternoon due to the large influx of emails, and the couple have said they were forced to go up to their office.
According to St. Louis Today, a Democrat who ran for a seat in the state Senate also declined to receive a donation from them and instead donated it to the Moms Demand Action gun safety campaign group.
A lawyer for the couple has insisted that “they acted legally on their property.”
Albert Watkins said Monday that the couple has long championed civil rights and supports the Black Lives Matter movement’s message.
He said they took up their weapons when two or three protesters, who were white, violently threatened the couple and their property and that of their neighbors.
‘His actions were based solely on fear and apprehension, the genesis of which was unrelated to race. In fact, the agitators responsible for the concern were targets, ” Watkins said in a statement.
“The peaceful protesters were not the subject of contempt or scorn by the McCloskeys.
On the contrary, they expected and supported the message of the protesters.
Gardner also released this statement about the investigation on Monday night.
“The most important thing for them is that their images (holding weapons) do not become the basis of a rallying cry for people who oppose the Black Lives Matter message,” he added.
“They want to make it very clear that they believe Black Lives Matter’s message is important.”
The McCloskeys’ video went viral Sunday night after they were seen pointing guns at protesters who walked their palatial property in the wealthy Forest Park area around 6 p.m. Sunday.
Protesters were on their way to Mayor Lyda Krewson’s home to demand her resignation after she released the names and addresses of residents who had suggested refinancing the police department.
The video of the couple’s confrontation has been viewed more than 13 million times as of Tuesday, with some supporting the couple’s right to protect their private property and others claiming they violated the law by threatening a peaceful protest.
At one point, the couple appeared to be unknowingly aiming their weapons while trying to keep protesters away from their home, nicknamed the Niemann Mansion.
In the video, protesters chanted ‘Let’s Go’ as the couple stood at their front door, patrolling from side to side.
Mark McCloskey could be seen with a firearm as protesters entered his neighborhood.
About 300 protesters had passed through a door in this gated community and were marching in front of McCloskey’s home, shown in the center. The family said they were dining outside when protesters arrived.
The entrance to the private path to Portland Place where protesters allegedly knocked down a door on Sunday
A video posted on Twitter about the demonstration shows the woman pointing her gun at a protester wearing a T-shirt that says, “Hands up, don’t shoot.”
The individual seemed to be trying to drive people away from the house at the time.
Patricia McCloskey is seen approaching protesters speaking to them as some stand up and argue.
Other protesters are heard yelling at everyone to “Go” as the woman continues to wave at them with her handgun from her front yard and Mark McCloskey watched from the front door with his rifle.
Police said Monday that people in the crowd yelled threats at the couple and that the McCloskeys would not be charged.
They added that they are still investigating, but called it a case of rape and assault for intimidation of the couple by protesters in the racially diverse crowd.
St. Louis police confirmed that they were called to Portland Place at around 7.20 p.m. M. Sunday night for a fourth bullying intrusion and assault incident after the McCloskeys issued a “call for help.”
‘The victims stated that they were on their property when they heard a strong commotion coming from the street. When the victims went to investigate the commotion, they observed that a large group of subjects smashed through an iron door marked with “No Trespassing” and “Private Street” signs, police said.
‘Once they crossed the door, the victims informed the group that they were on a private street and they trespassed and told them to leave. The group began shouting obscenities and threats of harm to both victims.
Husband and wife, Mark and Patricia McCloskey are personal injury attorneys.
‘When the victims observed several armed subjects, they armed themselves and contacted the police. The investigation is ongoing.
In interviews on Monday, Mark McCloskey compared the protesters to the taking of the Bastille and called them “Marxists” and “terrorists” who were part of a revolution that really did not care about Black Lives Matter.
He noted that he had previously represented a black man who was the victim of police violence.
He also said the only one pulled his gun out of his home when protesters broke a door on his private property, sharing photos of the destroyed door.
“A crowd of at least 100 walked through the historic wrought-iron gates of Portland Place, destroying them, rushed to my house where my family was dining outside and made us fear for our lives,” he said.
‘This is all private property. There are no public sidewalks or public streets. They told us they would kill us, burn our house, and kill our dog. We were alone in front of an angry crowd.
Their claims appear to contrast with a live-streamed video of a protester showing them walking through the open, intact door and immediately encountering an armed Mark McCloskey.
According to the NRA, state law does not prohibit the open carrying of firearms, but it does prohibit displaying ‘any weapon readily capable of lethal use’ in an angry or threatening manner in the presence of one or more persons.
Displaying a weapon in this manner would likely be a Class D felony punishable by up to four years in prison and a fine not to exceed $ 5,000.
According to the St. Louis American, however, the ‘Castle Doctrine’ allows people to use deadly force to attack an intruder on their property.
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