Deputy governor of Missouri pardons St. Louis couple who pointed guns at BLM protesters
In response to George Floyd’s death, two St. Louis residents aimed firearms at demonstrators protesting it. The couple will no longer serve time behind bars for their actions. Mark and Patricia McCloskey have been pardoned by Missouri Governor Mike Parson as reported by the Associated Press.
“We are grateful for Governor Mike Parson’s righting of this wrong and granting us pardons today.”
McClokseys are known for their involvement in social justice demonstrations which followed Floyd’s murder. During the protest, protestors made their way to the home of St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, pulled out their guns, and brandished them at the peaceful group of people who were allegedly trespassing along a private street because they felt threatened.
They were originally charged with crimes including weapon possession and evidence tampering, but their charges were modified to misdemeanor harassment after a grand jury indictment. Since then, Patricia has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense of harassment and received a fine of $750. Mark, on the other hand, was fined $2,000 after he admitted he’d committed fourth-degree assault by pointing his rifle at the protesters and defended his actions.
“I’d do it again,” he said after a previous court appearance. “Whenever the mob approaches me, I will do whatever I can to put them in a position of imminent physical threat, because that is what prevented them from destroying my house and my family.”
Democrats were disappointed in the court’s ruling despite Republicans defending Mark, who is running for a US Senate seat.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey admitted breaking the law and within weeks were rewarded with pardons, Crystal Quade, the minority leader of the Missouri House Democratic Party, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Democrat state Rep. LaKeySha Bosley described the governor’s stunt as “a disturbing indication that justice belongs only to those with privilege in this state.”
