Missouri lawyer couple threatens BLM protesters with AR-15 and handgun as they march past their palatial home
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI: A Missouri couple was filmed pointing their guns at protesters who were marching past their mansion while calling for the city's mayor to resign.
In a video that has gone viral on social media and been viewed over a million times, Mark and Patricia McCloskey could be seen threatening protesters outside their home in the city's Forest Park area at around 6 pm on Sunday, June 28. At one point, they unknowingly pointed their weapons at each other. The Daily Mail reported that Mark, who was carrying an AR-15, and Patricia, who was carrying a handgun, are both personal injury lawyers who run the McCloskey Law Center from inside their five-floor palatial home.
Ironically, Mark is said to be representing a victim of police brutality who was kicked and assaulted by police officer David Maas. A 2019 civil lawsuit indicates that the victim is one Isaiah Forman, who has pleaded guilty to crashing his car into a police vehicle during a chase and is now serving a seven-year sentence behind bars.
Speaking to MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), the man who filmed the McCloskey's brandishing their guns at the peaceful protesters said they had been speaking out against St Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson after she outed the names of those who had called for the defunding of police.
"This specific march was in part to demonstrate against Mayor Krewson’s awful doxxing of St. Louis residents that oppose her use of the city’s budget to enrich the police department," he said. "Please share that this is happening only because we as community members are marching to demand safety, security, and fair treatment for our black community members."
Doxxing is the act of publishing private or identifying information about individuals, usually on the internet, with malicious intent. He was referring to Krewson reading out the names and street addresses of protesters who had demanded that the city defund the police department on a Facebook Live news briefing earlier this week, an incident that has since received widespread backlash.
"Today adds to the list of things we never thought we would have to say," said Sara Baker, the Policy Director of ACLU of Missouri, in a statement. "To be clear, it is shocking and misguided for Mayor Lyda Krewson of St. Louis, to broadcast the addresses of those who dare to express a different viewpoint on an issue of public concern."
"It serves no apparent purpose beyond intimidation. We are stronger when we foster open dialogue. The chilling of debate should bother everyone, no matter whether they agree or disagree with the mayor on this particular issue."
An online petition calling for Krewson to step down clocked over 44,000 signatures, eventually forcing her to take down her post and issue an apology.
"In an effort to be transparent and accessible to the public during the Covid-19 pandemic, for more than three months now I have been doing tri-weekly community updates on Facebook," she said. "Tonight, I would like to apologize for identifying individuals who presented letters to me at City Hall as I was answering a routine question during one of my updates earlier today. While this is public information, I did not intend to cause distress or harm to anyone. The post has been removed."