St. Louis Prosecutor Fighting To Stay On McCloskey Case After Judge Booted Her For Appearing ‘Political’

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner has appealed a judge’s decision to dismiss her and her office from prosecuting the case of Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who were charged with gun crimes after threatening Black Lives Matter activists who broke into the couple’s gated community in June.

Last week, Gardner appealed the decision of Circuit Judge Thomas Clark II to remove her from the case over the “appearance of impropriety” raised after Gardner sent out fundraising emails that mentioned the McCloskey case, according to 5 On Your Side. Gardner argued that the judge’s ruling set “an extremely low standard” by which prosecutors could be removed from cases.