Trump may intervene in case St. Louis couple wield weapons against protesters, Missouri governor said


The Missouri governor says President Trump has promised “to do everything in his power” to protect a St. Louis couple who were holding firearms against protesters in their gated community, even when a client attorney says charges are imminent.

Gov. Mike Parson said he spoke to Trump on Tuesday and made sure that the president, who previously retweeted a photo of the couple, Mark and Patricia McCloskey holding guns in front of their home in the June 28 incident, “understands the situation in Missouri. “

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A couple pulls their guns at protesters as they enter their neighborhood during a protest against St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, June 28, 2020, in this image. obtained from social networks.

A couple pulls their guns at protesters as they enter their neighborhood during a protest against St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, June 28, 2020, in this image. obtained from social networks.
(Reuters)

“He understands the situation in St. Louis and how out of control it is for a prosecutor to leave violent criminals and not do their job and try to attack law-abiding citizens,” Parson said at a news conference.

“The conversation I had with the president said he would do everything in his power to help with this situation,” Parson added.

The Parson-Trump conversation comes days after police issued a search warrant at the McCloskeys’ home in the upscale neighborhood of St. Louis, in the West End, in the same area where the Democratic mayor of the city, Lyda Krewson.

About 500 protesters marching for racial equality and against police brutality made their way to Krewson’s residence during the June 28 incident, after she read the names and addresses of people requesting to remove the police. Mark and Patricia McCloskey left their home, brandished their weapons and demanded that the protesters leave because they were invading. The couple later told Fox News’s Sean Hannity that they feared the protesters would “kill” us and “set the house on fire.”

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Police confiscated the rifle Mark was holding in the now-viral video of the incident, while the couple’s attorney, Albert Watkins, handed over a pistol Patricia was holding to St. Louis police on Saturday. The gun had been in Watkins’ possession as evidence that it was inoperable when she pointed it at the protesters “in defense of themselves and their home. [the] time of the march, “Watkins told Fox News.

Watkins says he anticipates state charges against the couple “as soon as today,” he told Fox News on Wednesday, but believes Trump’s interest in the case is positive.

“The president has been restricted to date and has been kept up-to-date in near real time,” Watkins told Fox News. “Their behind-the-scenes support was vital in allowing local police to back away from previous directives to be ‘hands-free’ protesters.

“The support of the Executive Office appears to have motivated the Governor to obtain a greater degree of appreciation for the implications and rights at risk in this situation,” Watkins said.

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Parson shared an article about the McCloskeys on Facebook on Tuesday with the caption “Missouri people have the right to protect their homes.”

In a separate post, Parson criticized city prosecutors, saying it is “terrible” that they are “attacking the McCloskeys for defending their home.”

Meanwhile, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s office released a statement calling it “incredible that the Governor of the state of Missouri seeks the advice of one of the most divisive leaders of our generation to dominate discretion. from a locally elected prosecutor. “

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“Today, both the Governor and Donald Trump came after me for doing my job and investigating a case,” the statement said Tuesday. “As they continue to play politics with handling this issue, spreading misinformation and distorting the truth, I refuse to do so. As I always do, I am reviewing all available facts and the law and will apply them equally, regardless of people. involved. “