St Louis couple who brandished guns at protesters plead guilty
Two wealthy American lawyers who earned notoriety by pointing guns at Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists marching past their mansion have pleaded guilty to misdemeanour charges, a court official has said.
Mark McCloskey, who ran across his lawn and threatened protesters with an assault rifle in the incident last year, was fined $750 on Thursday for fourth-degree assault, said Tom Gross, spokesman for the 22nd Circuit Court in St Louis, Missouri.
His wife Patricia McCloskey was fined $2,000 for misdemeanour harassment after brandishing a handgun at the protesters.
Both had originally been charged with felony misuse of weapons after they were seen in video footage and photographs barefoot on their lawn in front of their palatial home, waving their guns and shouting as the peaceful protest march against police abuse and racism passed by on June 28, 2020.
There was no evidence that either had been threatened by the protesters.
The couple became a symbol of the gap between conservative white Americans and Black people seeking justice.
But conservatives in the state defended their actions and the state’s governor, Mike Parson, declared he would pardon them if they were convicted.
The couple became Republican heroes in the hotly fought presidential election last year, warning that Democrats would take away Americans’ gun rights.
“Make no mistake: No matter where you live, your family will not be safe in the radical Democrats’ America,” Patricia McCloskey said in a video the two made for the August Republican national convention that nominated Donald Trump for a second term as president.
In May, Mark McCloskey announced he was running for one of Missouri’s seats in the United States Senate.
In a campaign video he highlighted the incident, while exaggerating the threat the couple faced.
“When the angry mob came to destroy my house and kill my family, I took a stand against them,” he said. “I will never back down.”
Couldn't happen to a nicer pair.
those poor persecuted trumpsters.
peaceful protest march against police abuse and racism passed by on June 28, 2020.
Actually, the marchers were trespassing and threatening them
Meh, seems fair. A couple grand and a misdemeanor each.
Had they not pointed their weapons at the protestors and made them piss their pants they would have gotten off scott-free
Even in [deleted Missouri]
had they lived in a number of other states and done this, they could have been legally dropped in their own front yard. bummer.
The rest of the personal banter was deleted SP
“When the angry mob came to destroy my house and kill my family, I took a stand against them,” he said. “I will never back down.”
These two are seriously mentally disturbed and should not be allowed to own firearms.
He did ... he could have fought it but they both took the cheap way out.
No he didn't. They accepted the legally decided consequences of their actions. They never backed down protecting their property
You have the choice of pleading innocent or guilty when the charges are read. Both are lawyers and knew the monetary consequences of fighting. If you read up on them, you will find that both are cheapskates. His "I'll never back down" was b.s.
Your logic is flawed on several levels.
First, if they are cheapskates as your say, why would they spend tens maybe hundreds of thousands dollars fighting a couple thousand dollars in fines and two misdemeanors. The answer is they wouldn't.
Second, in the context of his quote, he never did back down. The context being defending his property. You can try to spin it differently but that is all it would be. Spin.
... plead guilty...
That is because they are cheap useless people.
You have a very low standard for mentally disturbed since many Americans would do exactly the same thing.
Perhaps you'd just give them free reign to maybe trash your place or worse
define "them"...
Already clearly defined in the seed/article ..... [deleted]
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Over half the country feels the same way.
sorry, but way less than a quarter of the entire US population voted for the autocratic grifter of morons.
You are aware are you not that the same can be said for the current sleeper in chief Biden. The totals were not that different. So sane Americans are saddled with a mentally challenged individual that the Democrats chose as an alternative to a mad scientist type Bernie Sanders who even scared the left.
yeah, almost 8 million votes difference is a real squeaker to the mathematically challenged...
Yeah, in a place with a population of over 330,000,000 it's not all that much. Do you want to do the math and tell us the actual percentage?
no problem. give me the exact % parameters. I have a calculator app on my phone.
approximately 24%
That's nice, 213,799,485 of that population were what counts, eligible voters. Do your math with that number.
They were in no danger of the "mob" trashing/looting their house. They were just walking past their house
[deleted]
I see you still have a desire for masochism.
Nope but i promise i'll let you know when i become more like the mutual admiration society here.
Don't hold your breath though .....
There's no mutual admiration society on you side? What's that you said before ..."spin"?
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LOL! I had to put him on ignore or he'd be following me around the rest of the day irritating the fuck out of me
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He's such a card.
they're waiting for a bigger hammer to come along.
you mean a decal, a yellow one with a snake on it...
Did i say there wasn't? That said, the discussion wasn't about them was it?
It is clear to any casual observer where the MA society here exists. Just read this thread.
Simple,
When I seed an article, I do not flag any comment and I also object to TPTB doing the same or anyone else for that matter. There is nothing more boring than a dinner party with a static topic of conversation ... it's inorganic.
Feel free to try one of Vic's cancel anything seeds.
No, I meant Master as in the card.
I never said you did and that wasn't the point. It is clear who the gang is here, between the same old passive aggressive to the old angry internet badass. It still runs the gamut here and nothing has changed that i can see in that regard.
That said, unless something has changed, i know Vic well enough to know he generally doesn't flag, honest, topical posts. And they don't get removed unless aren't that. Your problem is likely that he doesn't let the random off topic, sophomoric post just go by like many folks here do. But hey, that's just my opinion, i could be wrong.
Here is a little background on the McCloskey's.
BTW, my neighbor at Table Rock Lake lived in the same neighborhood as these two and said they were a pain in the ass.
Well lets be honest here .... what attorney isn't?