In an ever-twisting story out of St. Louis, a couple who was seen in a viral video holding off a crowd of protestors who had allegedly threatened them has had their guns seized by the circuit attorney.
The couple, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, said they came outside of their home to defend themselves the evening of June 28 after a crowd of protestors broke down the iron gate that separated the private neighborhood from a busy nearby street. Mark McCloskey was seen in the video holding an AR-15 while his wife Patricia wielded a small silver pistol. When the crowd saw the guns, they apparently changed their minds and decided to not harm the couple, opting instead to carry on down the street as they headed toward St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewsen’s home.
While this might appear to be a good application of both the 2nd Amendment and Missouri’s Castle Doctrine, the city’s circuit attorney, Kim Garner, issued a warrant that was executed for seizure of the McCloskey’s guns
At issue appears to be whether the couple met the legal qualifications to point guns at the protestors. Under Missouri law, it is legal to defend life with deadly force but not property. If the McCloskey’s felt threatened bodily, that might hold up in court. But if they were simply defending property, they could face assault charges even though the incident took place on private property. So far, neither McCloskey has been charged with a crime, so it is unclear why the guns were seized.
According to Fox News, the McCloskeys felt their lives were in danger. Patricia McCloskey told Sean Hannity, “[They said] that they were going to kill us. They were going to come in there. They were going to burn down the house. They were going to be living in our house after I was dead, and they were pointing to different rooms and said, 'That’s going to be my bedroom and that’s going to be the living room and I’m going to be taking a shower in that room’.”
CA Garner has been the subject of controversy since taking office, beginning with compiling a list in 2018 of 28 St. Louis city police officers whose arrests she refused to prosecute. More recently, Garner released all the protesters who were arrested during the George Floyd riots, not charging any of them even though several were seen burning cars and destroying businesses.
The next few weeks will determine whether this case goes to court or is thrown out based on the legality of the McCloskeys’ actions that evening. How will the judge and/or jury view the couples’ actions in light of federal and state guns laws?
Whatever the outcome of the legal case, one thing is clear: both McCloskeys need firearms training. Their lack of trigger and muzzle discipline and apparent ignorance about how to safely and properly hold a gun was obvious to anyone with basic knowledge of guns. ~ David
David Workman
David is an avid gun guy and a contributing writer to several major gun publications. In addition to being an NRA-certified RSO, David trains
new shooters on basic handgun skills and CCW requirements and is a strong advocate for training as much as you possibly can. "Real life shootouts don't happen at a box range."
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