The St. Louis prosecutors on Monday filed charges against Mark and Patricia McCloskey.
Via KMOV:
St. Louis prosecutors on Monday filed charges against Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the Central West End couple seen pointing guns at protesters in late June.
Patricia and Mark McCloskey are each facing one count of Unlawful Use of a Weapon – Flourishing, sources told News 4.
KMOV reported that in a statement Monday, their attorney, Joel Schwartz said the charges are “disheartening, as I unequivocally believe no crime was committed.”
“I, along with my clients, support the First Amendment right of every citizen to have their voice and opinion heard. This right, however, must be balanced with the Second Amendment and Missouri law, which entitle each of us to protect our home and family from potential threats,” Schwartz said, saying he looks forward to reviewing all evidence and defending the couple.
Last month Mark McCloskey and his wife Patricia defended their home from hundreds of Black Lives Matter militants.
Soros-funded Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner filed the charges on Monday.
KMOV reported:
“It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening matter at those participating in nonviolent protest, and while we are fortunate this situation did not escalate into deadly force, this type of conduct is unacceptable in St. Louis,” Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner said in a statement. “We must protect the right to peacefully protest, and any attempt to chill it through intimidation will not be tolerated.”
Kim Gardner released a statement this afternoon.
Gardner claims the protesters who broke through a gate into a private community were “unarmed, peaceful protesters.” And it is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at at those participating in nonviolent protest. (The protesters threatened the McCloskeys!)
Gardner added, “We must protect the right to peacefully protest.”
Later this afternoon Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a brief seeking to dismiss the junk charges by Kim Gardner.
FOX News reported:
Within hours of the ruling, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a brief seeking to dismiss Gardner’s charges against the McCloskeys on the grounds that their Second Amendment rights are being violated.
“The right to keep and bear arms is given the highest level of protection in our constitution and our laws, including the Castle Doctrine, which provides broad rights to Missourians who are protecting their property and lives from those who wish to do them harm,” Schmitt said in a prepared statement provided to Fox News.
“Despite this, Circuit Attorney Gardner filed suit against the McCloskeys, who, according to published reports, were defending their property and safety. As Missouri’s Chief law enforcement officer, I won’t stand by while Missouri law is being ignored,” Schmitt said.
The brief filing says the attorney general “respectfully requests that the Court dismiss this case at the earlier possible opportunity.”
The McCloskeys have said they were defending themselves, with tensions high in St. Louis amid nationwide police protests sparked by the police custody death of George Floyd. The McCloskeys said that the crowd of demonstrators broke an iron gate marked with “No Trespassing” and “Private Street” signs and that some violently threatened them.
AG Eric Schmidt released a video tonight.
In light of charges issued earlier today by Circuit Attorney Gardner, Attorney General Schmitt filed briefs supporting Missourians' Second Amendment rights. Read the briefs here: https://t.co/88HpuhBTyz and here: https://t.co/ryPcirkZdX
WATCH -> pic.twitter.com/lQhrNHlmQh
— Attorney General Eric Schmitt (@AGEricSchmitt) July 20, 2020
