Gun-waving St. Louis pair plead guilty

ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis couple who gained notoriety for pointing guns at social justice demonstrators pleaded guilty Thursday to misdemeanor charges, but the man left the courthouse defiantly pledging to “do it again” if faced with the same circumstances.

Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment and was fined $2,000. Her husband, Mark McCloskey, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and was fined $750. They also agreed to give up the weapons they used during the confrontation.

When several hundred people protesting the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer marched past their home in June 2020, the couple, both lawyers in their 60s, waved an AR-15-style rifle and a pistol at them. They claimed the protesters were trespassing and that they feared for their safety. The couple were later indicted on felony weapons charges.

Special prosecutor Richard Callahan said the misdemeanor plea was reasonable, noting the McCloskeys called the police, no shots were fired and no one was hurt.

Because the charges are misdemeanors, the McCloskeys do not face the possibility of losing their law licenses and can continue to own firearms.

Mark McCloskey, who announced in May that he was running for a U.S. Senate seat in Missouri, was unapologetic.

“I’d do it again,” he said from the courthouse steps. “Any time the mob approaches me, I’ll do what I can to put them in imminent threat of physical injury because that’s what kept them from destroying my house and my family.”