In a recent development, a St.
Louis couple who brandished firearms to safeguard their property from Black Lives Matter demonstrators in 2020 have had their misdemeanor convictions expunged. Mark and Patricia McCloskey, following the court's decision, are now demanding the return of their confiscated weapons.
According to the Gateway Pundit, the McCloskeys' legal representatives initiated the process to have their convictions erased in January. Judge Joseph P. Whyte, who granted the expungement, stated that the purpose of such a process is to offer rehabilitated individuals a new beginning. However, city prosecutors and police were in opposition to the expungements.
Following the court's ruling, Mark McCloskey immediately called for the city to return the two firearms that were seized as part of his 2021 guilty plea to misdemeanor assault. "Its time for the city to cough up my guns," he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, threatening to file a lawsuit if his demand is not met.
The McCloskeys' actions were in response to feeling threatened by protesters who were passing by their home in June 2020, en route to the nearby mayor's house. The protest was one of many sparked by the controversial death of George Floyd, which ignited a wave of demonstrations and riots across the United States. The couple also claimed that the group was trespassing on a private street.
The McCloskeys, armed with an AR-15-style rifle and a semiautomatic pistol, confronted the protesters. Their actions were later pardoned by Republican Gov. Mike Parson, underscoring the importance of individual freedom and property rights, key tenets of conservative values.
Login