Hundreds of protesters again gathered outside the home of Mark and Patricia McCloskey in St. Louis, Missouri, on Friday, taunting the pair of homeowners, who last week tried to defend their property from a demonstration that had broken through the gates of their private community by brandishing a pair of firearms.
“Protesters marched along the busy public boulevard called Kingshighway, which intersects with Portland Place, a private street that is the site of the Renaissance palazzo-style home of Mark McCloskey, 61, and his 63-year-old wife, Patricia,” Yahoo News reported Saturday.
The protesters stopped “just outside the gates,” resisting a repeat of last week, when the same demonstrators, on their way to the mayor’s home, allegedly broke down a pair of wrought iron doors and entered the private community. For 15 minutes, they chanted Black Lives Matter slogans, though this time, the couple was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, it seems, the McCloskey’s had hired a private security firm to protect their home rather than rely on their own prowess with handguns and an AR-15.
“Inside the gate, more than a dozen men in plain clothes walked the grounds and peered out from a second-floor balcony of the couple’s home, Yahoo News said. “One protester briefly straddled an iron gate as if he was going to jump over, but did not. No one threw anything and no one behind the gates showed aggression. One man on the McCloskeys’ balcony clapped along with the chanting protesters.”
The wrought iron gates that protect the community from the public were reinforced this week, according to video gathered Friday night, keeping the demonstrations from getting close to any of the homes inside the exclusive Portland Place neighborhood.
Local reporters captured the scene for social media.
Protesters march past the Portland Place neighborhood in the Central West End. #protests2020 #CWE #marchtothemayorshouse #proteststl #BlackLivesMatter #portlandplace #McCloskeys pic.twitter.com/qkkrVEfb1E
— Jennifer Sarti (@JenniferSarti10) July 4, 2020
Outside the #McCloskey house right now. pic.twitter.com/QwdxTgPosk
— Christine Tannous (@ctannous98) July 4, 2020
The McCloskeys, who are personal injury attorneys with a history of representing clients affected by police violence, made national headlines last week after they appeared outside their home with a pair of firearms aimed at protesters who claim to have been marching peacefully past the couple’s multi-million dollar mansion.
The McCloskeys say they were threatened by a number of protesters who were armed; protesters say they did not acknowledge the McCloskeys until after the couple pointed guns in their direction. Speaking to CNN earlier this week, Mark McCloskey detailed his interaction with “peaceful” demonstrators.
“A guy stands in front of me, pulls out two loaded pistol magazines, snaps them in front of my face, and says, ‘You’re next.’ If you were there, Chris, I think you’d feel like you had a right to defend yourself, as well,” McCloskey told host Chris Cuomo.
Both parties are, reportedly, under investigation, though neither the St. Louis city prosecutor nor the police department has announced charges against either party.
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