St. Louis Couple's AR-15 Legal Odyssey Comes to an End

Matt Vespa | June 17, 2021 4:45 PM

This legal odyssey has been ongoing for months. Last summer, Mark and Patricia McCloskey gained national attention when they rushed out of their home with guns as rioters trespassed on their property. These weren’t peaceful protesters. They batted down their gate to the front lawn. The St. Louis couple immediately faced media scrutiny. City Attorney Kim Gardner moved to charge them. That got a bit messy when she used this case as part of her re-election campaign. It was on her campaign literature. The state attorney general intervened but a grand jury still indicted the couple on weapons and tampering with evidence charges. At the time, their attorney said this was not a shocking development but added that not all the facts were presented. Well, now, the party is over. the legal fight is over. The McCloskeys will plead guilty to harassment and assault charges. They will turn over their firearms as well (via Associated Press):

A St. Louis couple who gained notoriety for pointing guns at social justice demonstrators last year pleaded guilty Thursday to misdemeanor charges and agreed to give up the weapons they used during the confrontation.
Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment and was fined $2,000. Her husband, Mark McCloskey, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and was fined $750.
When several hundred demonstrators marched past their home in June of 2020, the couple waved weapons at them. They claimed the protesters were trespassing and that they feared for their safety.
[…]
On the courthouse steps after the hearing, special prosecutor Richard Callahan said the misdemeanor plea was reasonable noting the McCloskeys called the police, no shots were fired and no one was hurt.
[…]
The McCloskeys were indicted by a grand jury in October on felony charges of unlawful use of a weapon and evidence tampering. Callahan later amended the charges to give jurors the alternative of convictions of misdemeanor harassment instead of the weapons charge. Under that alternative, the evidence tampering count would be dropped.
An investigation by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s office led to the initial indictments — and harsh backlash from several Republican leaders.
[…]
Callahan, a longtime judge and former U.S. attorney, was appointed special prosecutor after a judge in December ruled that Gardner created an appearance of impropriety by mentioning the McCloskey case in fundraising emails before the August Democratic primary. Gardner went on to win reelection.