Charges filed against St. Louis couple who brandished guns at protesters
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said in an interview over the weekend he’d consider a pardon for the couple if they were convicted of charges over the incident.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey were each charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner, according to a statement and documents from her office.
Missouri’s Attorney General is seeking to dismiss felony gun charges brought against a husband and wife who aimed firearms at protesters outside their St. Louis mansion, insisting the couple had a right to defend their home.
State AG Eric Schmitt took to Twitter on Monday night with a video statement and a lengthy series of posts, arguing the case against Mark and Patricia McCloskey – which included a felony firearms charge as well as misdemeanor assault – “threatens to intimidate and deter law-abiding citizens from exercising their constitutional right of self defense.”
“The right to defend one’s person, family, home and property has deep roots in Missouri law. Self-defense is the central component of the right to keep and bear arms, which receives the highest protection from the MO Constitution,” wrote Schmitt, adding that he’d filed a pair of briefs to dismiss the charge