Hey, remember that White US couple who made worldwide news when they pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters wandering past their house?
Well, they’ve been charged, with one prosecutor slamming the pair for waving weapons at non-violent demonstrators.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Mark and Patricia McCloskey have each been slapped with a single felony count of unlawful use of a weapon.
In a statement, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner said “while we are fortunate this situation did not escalate into deadly force, this type of conduct is unacceptable in St. Louis.”
All of this stemmed from a June 28 incident, which saw protesters en route to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson’s house pass through a ‘private’ neighbourhood.
While protesters passed the residence, the McCloskeys stood on their lawn, waving a pistol and a semi-automatic rifle.
Patricia McCloskey’s finger could be seen resting on the pistol’s trigger.
In a subsequent interview, Mark McCloskey said the couple was “threatened with our lives,” and claimed “the only thing that stopped the crowd from approaching the house was when I had that rifle”.
It’s a different story from protest organisers, who said there was zero reason for their reaction.
Organisers claim they never stepped on private property, and gained entry to the neighbourhood through a gate which was already open, disputing Mark McCloskey’s claim that a “horde” came through “smashed down gates”.
The charges are hardly the end of this one, mind you.
Gardner said she’d be satisfied if the pair completed a diversion program, like a behaviour modification course, but Missouri Governor Mike Parson has previously suggested he’d pardon the couple entirely.
