Republican Missouri Governor Michael Parson pardoned Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who famously defended their homes with guns while Black Lives Matter rioters trespassed through their neighborhood last summer.
One progressive Democrat known for her BLM affiliation is now threatening them, saying their “day will come.”
Parson revealed the McCloskeys’ pardon along with a batch of other pardons and commutations. The governor did not give any additional statement regarding the McCloskeys.
The McCloskeys pleaded guilty in June to misdemeanor offenses related to their confrontation with Black Lives Matter activists last year.
Mark McCloskey pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault and was fined $750. Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment and was fined $2,000. Both agreed to give up their guns used in the altercation.
In June 2020, the McCloskeys confronted dozens of Black Lives Matter protesters that had broken into a private, gated community in St. Louis while marching to then-Mayor Lyda Krewson’s house. While the McCloskeys and the protesters exchanged heated words, no shots were fired and nobody was hurt.
Mark McCloskey said in a statement following the pardon that if he were ever put in that situation again, he would act the same, according to the AP.
“Today we are incredibly thankful that Governor Mike Parson righted this wrong and granted us pardons,” he added.
McCloskey attorney Joel Schwartz added that the couple is “thrilled” with Parson’s decision to pardon them.
“They want to put this episode of their lives behind them and focus on Mark’s campaign for senate. As Mark McCloskey has stated, if he faced the same situation again, he would conduct himself in the same manner, and he feels he’s been vindicated by the governor’s pardon,” Schwartz said, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Democrat Rep. Cori Bush, was outraged Wednesday by the pardons and said Mark McCloskey’s “day will come.”
Bush, who was actually among those BLM rioters who broke into the neighborhood, told CNN the pardons of the McCloskeys by Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson were “absolutely unbelievable.”
“Mark McCloskey is an absolute liar,” she said. “He has spat on my name. And because of that, his day will come. You will not be successful in all that you’re trying to do, when you are hurting the very people that are out trying to save lives … He can try it, but I will not stand by and allow him or our governor to hurt the very people that are doing the work that they should be doing.”
Bush was so wound up by the end of her remarks that she momentarily looked off-camera to compose herself, while host Brianna Keilar thanked her for how “very strongly” she felt.
Nine Black Lives Matter rioters were issued citations for trespassing in connection with the incident but prosecutors refused to move forward. The couple’s attorney said the demonstrators broke down a gate to get onto the private street and threatened them.
Mark McCloskey has also launched a bid for U.S. Senate and is using the June 2020 incident to fundraise and bolster his image among GOP voters.
Author: Devin Reardon
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