Multiple videos of the altercation went viral online, with the couple earning both praise for ‘standing their ground’, criticism for ‘mishandling’ the guns, and condemnation for ‘threatening peaceful protesters’. 

While none of the videos showed anyone actually trespassing into the property, some of the activists were standing at the very edge of the lawn, recording the couple and some reportedly even taunting them with the ‘eat the rich’ slogan.

The couple in their turn were shouting at the protesters, ordering them to leave private property, at times pointing the guns at the crowd.

The group of protesters apparently crashed the gate into the neighborhood as the incident took place at the private street Portland Place, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The crowd then proceeded to rally outside of Mayor Lyda Krewson's house, pushing through police barricades inside the yard and to the front porch, and painted the word “RESIGN” on the street outside her windows.

Protesters are demanding her resignation in part for publicly revealing the names of several Black Lives Matter activists behind the calls to defund police and close a local jail. Demonstrators have been marching in St Louis for weeks as part of nationwide protests against brutality and racism, triggered by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police.

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