US couple charged with felony over guns at protest
In this file photo taken on July 3, 2020 security personnel stand on the balcony of the home of Mark and Patricia McCloskey as protesters demonstrate against racism and police brutality outside their neighborhood in St Louis, Missouri.
The top prosecutor in St Louis in the US has charged a husband and wife with felony unlawful use of a weapon for displaying guns during a racial injustice protest outside their mansion.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who are white, are both personal injury attorneys in their 60s. Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner said their actions risked creating a violent situation during an otherwise non-violent protest last month.
“It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner — that is unlawful in the city of St Louis,” Gardner said.
An attorney for the couple, Joel Schwartz, in a statement called the decision to charge “disheartening as I unequivocally believe no crime was committed.”
Supporters of the McCloskeys said they were legally defending their US$1.15 million home.
Gardner is recommending a diversion program such as community service rather than jail if the McCloskeys are convicted. Typically, class E felonies could result in up to four years in prison.
Several Republican leaders have condemned Gardner’s investigation, including President Donald Trump, Missouri Governor Mike Parson and Senator Josh Hawley, who has urged Attorney General William Barr to undertake a civil rights investigation of Gardner. Parson said in a radio interview on Friday that he would likely pardon the couple if they were charged and convicted.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said in a statement on Monday that he filed a brief requesting that the charges be dismissed under the state’s Castle Doctrine.
“The right to keep and bear arms is given the highest level of protection in our constitution and our laws, including the Castle Doctrine,” Schmitt said in the statement. “This provides broad rights to Missourians who are protecting their property and lives from those who wish to do them harm.”
Hawley said on Twitter that the charges were an “unacceptable abuse of power and a threat to the Second Amendment.” He called for a federal civil rights investigation into the St Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office to “determine whether this investigation and impending prosecution violates this family’s constitutional rights.”
Gardner said Trump, Parson and others are attacking her to distract from “their failed approach to the COVID-19 pandemic” and other issues.
No shots were fired during the incident.
