St. Louis gun-toting controversy

On June 28, 2020, a crowd of approximately 500 Black Lives Matter protesters entered Portland and Westmoreland Places, a nearby community, in order to gather around the home of St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, and demand her resignation after she publicly read names and both partial and full addresses of those who had submitted letters calling to defund the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.[7] Though critics contend that Krewson's actions were tantamount to doxxing, she maintains that the letters are a matter of public record.[7] Despite her contention, she has since apologized, and took down the Facebook Live video of her briefing.[8] These protesters were related to the George Floyd protests in Missouri.

A live stream video on Twitter showed the protesters entering through a wrought iron gate and walking on a sidewalk, both of which were located directly next to the home of personal injury lawyers Mark and Patricia McCloskey, in order to reach Krewson's home. The said gate also supposedly had "No Trespassing" and "Private Street" signs placed next to it. The historic wrought iron gate appeared intact during the initial video, and was being held open by a protester while other protesters walked through. The video does not show how the gate was first opened. However, the iron gate was shown to be damaged and literally bent in half in later video and photos. Despite being a sidewalk, the area where it was located on was legally private property/a private place due to idiosyncrasies of the historical time they were first created (where private owners paid for streets near their houses to be paved; see Portland and Westmoreland Places for further details).[9]

As the crowd approached, Mark McCloskey was seen shouting "private property" and "get out" multiple times at protesters from his nearby home. Protesters were seen marching both past his home and some closer near to his home. Mark and Patricia were then seen standing outside their front door, with a rifle and handgun respectively. Several protesters were seen confronting Mark and Patricia directly in front of their home, only several yards apart, exchanging heated words. At a point, Patricia was seen walking onto the grass between her home and the sidewalk where protesters were marching by. Some protesters are heard asking others to leave and move on, while other protesters are heard threatening the McCloskeys. During this time, Mark and Patricia pointed their guns towards the crowd. No shots were fired and there were no injuries. Shortly after the incident, the McCloskeys did news interviews stating they are supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement and civil rights. They later criticized BLM protesters at the 2020 Republican National Convention.[2][3]

On June 29, 2020, police were investigating protesters for "trespassing" and "assault by intimidation".[10][11][12] President Donald Trump also retweeted video of the incident.[13] Kimberly Gardner, the Circuit Attorney (chief prosecutor) for the City of St. Louis, Missouri, told CNN in a statement, "We must protect the right to peacefully protest, and any attempt to chill it through intimidation or threat of deadly force will not be tolerated."[8]

On July 10, 2020, St. Louis police seized the rifle of Mark McCloskey. The McCloskeys' previous attorney, Al Watkins, was in possession of the handgun which had been held by Patricia McCloskey, claiming it was to ensure that the handgun was not tampered with. Watkins claimed that the handgun was not functional and could not be fired, and that Patricia knew it was not functional when she held it during the confrontation with the protestors. Watkins then turned over the handgun to the authorities. The handgun had been nonfunctional because it was used as evidence in a previous unrelated trial.[14][15]

On July 14, 2020, President Donald Trump gave an interview with conservative news outlet Townhall, in which he stated support for the McCloskeys.[16][17]

On July 20, 2020, Kimberly Gardner, the Circuit Attorney (chief prosecutor) for the City of St. Louis, Missouri, filed charges against Mark and Patricia McCloskey for unlawful use of a weapon, which is a class E felony, and can carry a sentence of up to four years in prison and a fine of $10,000. This decision drew national attention and criticism.[4][5][6]

On July 21, 2020 Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed amicus briefs which argue "Missouri’s statutes specifically authorize Missouri citizens to use firearms to deter assailants and protect themselves, their families, and homes from threatening or violent intruders" and request dismissal of the cases against the McCloskeys.[18][19] Schmitt expressed his concern for "the chilling effect that this [case] might have with people exercising their Second Amendment rights".[20] Retired Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Wolff was critical of the intervention, stating that Schmitt "had no role at the trial court level and might be called on to represent prosecutors if the McCloskeys are convicted and appeal".[20]

On July 22, 2020, KMOV4 news published an article stating that the news outlet had anonymously received the supposed prosecutor's lab report for firearms analysis in the case. This document could not be verified. The lab report stated that the prosecutor's lab had tested both the rifle and handgun. The rifle fired when tested, but the handgun was not functional and could not be fired. At the request of prosecutor Chris Hinkley, the handgun was stripped and found to be assembled incorrectly. The prosecutor then requested it to be reassembled correctly and test fired again. The handgun then fired properly. The prosecutor's charging documents stated that the handgun was capable of lethal use. The McCloskeys' current attorney Joel Schwartz stated that if the lab report was authentic, then this action would be considered tampering with evidence. In addition, if the handgun was truly inoperable at the time of the confrontation with protesters, then the prosecutor's charges against Patricia McCloskey would be invalid because the handgun was not readily capable of lethal use.[21]

On July 29, 2020, the McCloskeys' attorney, Joel Schwartz, filed a motion to disqualify Kimberly Gardner, Circuit Attorney, and her office from pursuing the case. The motion stated that Gardner should not be allowed to prosecute their case because Gardner had sent out campaign literature which referenced the charges against the McCloskeys, before any charges were actually brought against the McCloskeys. Gardner's campaign literature was for the Democratic primaries; the winner is the presumptive circuit attorney for the next four years. In one email, Gardner's campaign literature read: "You might be familiar with the story of the couple who brandished guns during a peaceful protest outside of their mansion” and “...President Trump and the Governor are fighting for the two who pointed guns at peaceful citizens...” The literature contained links to donate to her re-election campaign. The McCloskeys' attorneys state that the campaign emails show Gardner has personal interest in the outcome of the case. The motion filing stated that "Here, a reasonable person with access to all the facts would find that there was at least the appearance of impropriety, in that Ms. Gardner's decision may have been affected by her personal, political, financial, and professional interests, and that her neutrality, judgement, and ability to administer the law in an objective manner may have been compromised".[22]

On July 30, 2020, 5 On Your Side news published an article stating that the lead St. Louis police detective investigating the McCloskey case had refused to sign at least two versions of court documents which were drafted by the prosecutors. The news agency claimed they had obtained and reviewed these draft court documents. The court documents show that police had reviewed videos taken June 28 during the incident, and police had contended that at least one person in the protester crowd was armed and another was wearing a bullet-resistant vest.[23]

On July 31, 2020, Mark McCloskey gave an interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News. Mark claimed that police investigators have video footage of people in the crowd outside his home who were "armed with guns," claiming that he also saw the firearms and was himself threatened by one demonstrator. Mark also alleged that one of the protesters confronting him had "pulled out two loaded magazines, showed me them so I could see the shells in the magazine, clicked them together and said, 'You're next.'"[24][25]

On October 6, 2020, a grand jury indicted both of the McCloskeys for exhibiting guns at a protest and tampering with a weapon.[26] Missouri Governor Mike Parson said he would "certainly" pardon the McCloskeys if they are convicted.[27]

On December 11, 2020, Circuit Judge Thomas Clark II disqualified Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner from prosecuting the case against Mark McCloskey, ruling that the Circuit Attorney circulating fundraising emails alluding to the McCloskey case "raises the appearance that she initiated a criminal prosecution for political purposes."[28][29]

Mark McCloskey and his attorney, Albert Watkins, appeared on Fox's Tucker Carlson Tonight on June 30, 2020, two days after the incident.[30]

On July 20, 2020, following the filing of charges against the couple, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany called those charges an "egregious abuse of power."[31]

On August 24, 2020, the couple delivered remarks during the 2020 Republican National Convention,[32] in support of the 2nd Amendment and of Donald Trump, while criticizing Black Lives Matter protesters. In response to the speech, the rabbi of the synagogue abutting the McCloskey property recounted a 2013 incident when Mark McCloskey destroyed the synagogue's beehive rather than asking it be moved away from the property line.[33]

Allen West, chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, wrote, "Democrat Congresswoman Cori Bush of Missouri... is someone speaking to condemn the violence of January 6th when she actually led a violent march against two people... Cori Bush is a BLM activist who led the mob that called for the rape, murder, and burning of the home of Patty and Mark McCloskey of St. Louis. I know this for a fact since my wife Angela and I hosted the McCloskey’s for an event here in North Texas, and they stayed at our home for two evenings."[34] QAnon member and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) repeated the accusation and "berated" Bush outside her office in the Longworth House Office Building, forcing Bush to change offices.[35]