McCloskey’s Convictions Erased But Lawsuit Looms Over Guns

The McClokseys.

The couple that defended their property after feeling threatened by a mob.

If you recall, there were a hoard of BLM protestors storming down their private road summer of 2020.

4 years later McCloskeys are back in the spotlight.

After a judge wiped clean their misdemeanor convictions, they’re now aiming to retrieve their firearms.

BREAKING: St. Louis couple who waved guns at BLM protesters have had all their convictions expunged.

Immediately after the judge's ruling, Mark McCloskey demanded that the city return the two seized guns. pic.twitter.com/rvGupMZG72

— Leading Report (@LeadingReport) June 8, 2024

Associated Press reports:

A judge has expunged the misdemeanor convictions of a St. Louis couple who waved guns at racial injustice protesters outside their mansion in 2020. Now they want their guns back.

Attorneys Mark and Patricia McCloskey filed a request in January to have the convictions wiped away. Judge Joseph P. Whyte wrote in an order Wednesday that the purpose of an expungement is to give people who have rehabilitated themselves a second chance, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. City prosecutors and police opposed the expungements.

Immediately after the judge’s ruling, Mark McCloskey demanded that the city return the two guns seized as part of his 2021 guilty plea to misdemeanor assault. Republican Gov. Mike Parson pardoned the couple weeks after the plea.

“It’s time for the city to cough up my guns,” he told the Post-Dispatch.

If it doesn’t, he said, he’ll file a lawsuit.

The McCloskeys said they felt threatened by the protesters, who were passing their home in June 2020 on their way to demonstrate in front of the mayor’s house nearby.

When there was BLM riots all over the news, and you see a potential riot storm brewing outside of your house, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that there’s a high chance of trouble and get prepared.

The Hill added:

Following the ruling, Mark McCloskey demanded that the city return the two guns seized as part of his 2021 guilty plea. The two guns were featured in the viral photo of him and his wife outside their home during the Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020.

He said he will file a lawsuit against the city if it does not return his Colt AR-15 rifle and a Bryco .380-caliber pistol.

The couple argued that they felt threatened by the protesters who were passing by their home during the nationwide demonstrations that broke out after the murder of George Floyd. Floyd died in May 2020 after a white police officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.

The photos of the couple, both brandishing weapons, became a symbol of America’s culture war at the moment and drew both widespread condemnation and praise from former President Trump and Republican lawmakers.

After their standoff, the couple pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charges. They were pardoned in July 2021 by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R). Despite the pardon, a judge ruled in December 2022 that the firearms would not be returned to the couple.

The couple, whose law licenses had been suspended, had also appealed to the Supreme Court, which turned away the case

NEW: "Cough up my guns," demands St. Louis' Mark McCloskey after Missouri judge expunges misdemeanor records from 2020 incident.

The St. Louis couple Mark and Patricia McCloskey went viral for brandishing firearms at racial injustice protesters in 2020.

The couple, whose… pic.twitter.com/rkRsm52vRr

— Hank (@HANKonX) June 8, 2024

Our record is expunged and wiped clean. Now the battle to get those guns back begins again! Here us an interview I did today for NBC Nightly News. We recorded the whole thing so you can compare it to whatever hit job edit they do. pic.twitter.com/9OMQlCpvnY

— Mark McCloskey (@mccloskeyusa) June 7, 2024