Advisers to President Trump say that Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who became famous after brandishing their firearms at protesters and activists who trespassed on their private street, will speak at the Republican National Convention to offer their support for President Trump, according to The Washington Post.
After the incident made national headlines, Mark McCloskey, who is an attorney (as is his wife), told KSDK News: “I went inside; I got a rifle … because as soon as I said ‘this is private property,’ those words enraged the crowd. Horde, an absolute horde came through the smashed-down gates, coming right at the house. … And then I stood out there, the only thing we said is, ‘This is private property, go back, private property, leave now.’ At that point, everybody got enraged, there were people wearing body armor.”
“One person pulled out [some] loaded pistol magazines and he clicked them together and he said, ‘You’re next,'” McCloskey said. “We were threatened with our lives, threatened with the house being burned down, my office building being burned down, even our dog’s life being threatened. It was about as bad as it can get. You know, I really thought it was the storming of Bastille, that we would be dead and the house would be burned and there was nothing we could do about it. It was a huge and frightening crowd, and they broke in the gate and they were coming at us.”
“There’s nothing public in Portland Place. Being inside that gate is like being in my living room,” McCloskey continued. “It was a big crowd and they were aggressive, wearing body armor and screaming at us and threatening to harm us, and how they were going to be living in our house after they killed us.”
In mid-July, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, a Democrat, announced she was charging the McCloskeys with felony unlawful use of a weapon. Gardner stated, “It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in nonviolent protest, and while we are fortunate this situation did not escalate into deadly force, this type of conduct is unacceptable in St. Louis.”
Almost immediately, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a brief that would dismiss the charges, writing that he “respectfully requests that the Court dismiss this case at the earlier possible opportunity.”
“The right to keep and bear arms is given the highest level of protection in our constitution and our laws, including the Castle Doctrine, which provides broad rights to Missourians who are protecting their property and lives from those who wish to do them harm,” Schmitt told Fox News, adding, “Despite this, Circuit Attorney Gardner filed suit against the McCloskeys, who, according to published reports, were defending their property and safety. As Missouri’s Chief law enforcement officer, I won’t stand by while Missouri law is being ignored.”
As The Daily Wire highlighted, multiple Republican politicians have defended the McCloskeys: “Republicans have stood up for the McCloskeys as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) sent a letter to United States Attorney General William Barr urging him to action against Gardner. Twelve Republican members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to Barr, in which they specifically named the McCloskeys, demanding that he take ‘decisive action’ to protect Americans from ‘mob rule.’ Missouri Republican Governor Mike Parsons signaled last week that he would likely pardon the McCloskeys if they were charged.”
Almost immediately after that, KSDK reported that the gun held by Patricia McCloskey was inoperable when it was transported to a St. Louis crime lab, but it was stripped and put back together to render it operable after a request from an Assistant Circuit Attorney. A document obtained by St. Louis-based KSDK stated:
The firearm could not be test fired as submitted. At the request of ACA (Assistant Circuit Attorney) Chris Hinckley, the firearm was field stripped and found to have been assembled incorrectly. The firing pin spring was placed in front of the firing pin, which was backwards, and will not fire in this condition. The firearm was reassembled properly, test fired and functioned as designed.
The document also stated that the disassembly and reassembly of the gun was photographed.