St. Louis couple who pointed guns at protesters plead guilty to misdemeanors

The St. Louis couple who pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home last year have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges over their actions.

Mark and Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty on Thursday to misdemeanors and agreed to have their guns taken and destroyed, local Fox affiliate KTVI reported.

Neither will face jail time. Mark McCloskey pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault and will pay a $750 fine. Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment and will pay a $2,000 fine, the couple’s attorney, Joel Schwartz, told The Hill in a statement. 

The incident happened in late June 2020 when Black Lives Matter protesters were walking through the couple’s gated community and the couple came out of their house and waved guns toward the protesters.

The couple argued they were in fear for their life, saying the protesters broke down the gate to their community and violated a no trespassing sign. The protesters said they were peacefully protesting and denied they caused any damage to the community’s gate.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner initially filed felony charges against the couple last year for unlawful use of a weapon. 

The couple has received support from Republicans, with former President Trump and other GOP politicians denouncing the charges against the couple when they were announced. Mark and Patricia McCloskey also spoke at the Republican National Convention last year.

Mark McCloskey is now running for a U.S. Senate seat in Missouri, a campaign he announced in May. 

“America is at a crossroads. Do we want to preserve our traditions and our way of life, or do we want the cancel culture mobs to destroy everything we’ve built? After traveling across the great state of Missouri over the past 11 months, it’s clear Missourians want a fighter in the US Senate,” he said in the announcement last month.

Updated at 4:32 p.m.