Missouri 'Ken and Karen' couple who brandished guns at BLM protesters have rifle seized during police raid
Authorities have seized the rifle from the home of Mark and Patricia McCloskey after they were able to execute a search warrant. The couple had made headlines when they pointed their guns and rifles to defend their home from protesters on June 28. KSDK-TV of St. Louis reported that during the search, the authorities seized the rifle that Mark was holding.
Insiders shared with 5 On Your Side that the police seized the rifle from the couple who told them that their attorney had the pistol seen in photos. It has not been indicated that the McCloskeys were arrested or charged with a crime yet. The two had appeared on Fox News' 'Hannity' and had shared that the protesters had returned to their neighborhood recently but had been alerted in advance and hired a private security company in order to protect their residence.
Mark revealed that from the previous night, "We started hiding valuables and securing the house." The homeowner also said that the protest had been loud but was non-violent. During the incident that took place in June, Patricia said that the couple was scared when around dinnertime around "300-500" people entered the gated community where they lived.
Patricia said, "[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’." The pair also said that the protesters had threatened to harm their dog who was outside the home at the time. According to protesters, they had been passing the couple's home and heading towards the home of Mayor Lyda Krewson to carry out their demonstration there.
The couple's attorney, Albert Watkins, said in a statement that the couple only armed themselves after they started feeling threatened, reports Fox News. He said, "My clients didn't sit on their front stoop with guns. ... No firearms were on them at the time that they, were, as property owners standing in front of their home." "It was not until they basically were in a position of seeing and observing violence, recklessness, lawbreaking, and knowing that the police were not going to be doing anything," he added.
We had earlier reported that Mark, who was carrying an AR-15, could be heard yelling, "Private property! Private property, get out!" at some of the protesters while menacingly holding his weapon, with his wife carrying a handgun and standing alongside him. The video had sparked outrage against the pair. Watkins shared, "At the time, their fear was, these people, two in particular, that were marching along with the Black Lives Matter protest participants — all peaceful," reports Fox News.
"They were acting in a fashion inconsistent with the message being given. My clients were not arming themselves against peaceful protesters, they were arming themselves about people with a really bad motive, a motive that runs afoul of the fundamental tenets of our country."