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Missouri AG Wants To Dismiss Charges Against St. Louis Couple Who Brandished Guns On Property During Protests
by David Krayden, The Daily Caller:
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt pledged Monday to seek a dismissal of charges against St. Louis couple Mark and Patricia McCloskey.
The couple faced down a group of demonstrators in late June with an AR-15 and a handgun. St. Louis circuit attorney Kim Gardner charged the pair with felony weapons charges Monday.
“Citizens shouldn’t be targeted for exercising their #2A right to self-defense,” Schmitt tweeted Monday. “STL prosecutor Kim Gardner is engaged in political prosecution … As AG I’m entering the case seeking dismissal & [to] defend all Missourians’ right to protect their lives/property.” (RELATED: Couple Wielding Guns Outside Their Mansion During BLM Protest Are Lawyers Representing A Victim Of Police Brutality)
Citizens shouldn’t be targeted for exercising their #2A right to self-defense
STL prosecutor Kim Gardner is engaged in a political prosecution
As AG I’m entering the case seeking a dismissal & defend all Missourians’ right to protect their lives/property pic.twitter.com/kQLXOAhFIz
— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) July 20, 2020
St. Louis prosecutor Kim Gardner is engaged in a political prosecution.
I entered the case seeking a dismissal.
As AG I have a duty to protect the fundamental rights of all Missourians including the right to keep & bear arms in self-defense of one’s person & home.
A THREAD
— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) July 21, 2020
Gardner was quick to indicate her disapproval of the McCloskeys’ actions.
“I am alarmed at the events that occurred over the weekend, where peaceful protestors were met by guns and a violent assault,” she tweeted June 29. “We must protect the right to peacefully protest, and any attempt to chill it with intimidation or threat of deadly force will not be tolerated.”
Graffiti is seen on a burned out 7Eleven after riots and looting overnight on June 2, 2020 in St Louis, Missouri. Four police officers were reportedly shot in St. Louis overnight during violent clashes with protesters leading to looting and damage to local businesses. (Photo by Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)
Soon after, local police arrived at the McCloskey home and seized the rifle, prompting outrage from some GOP lawmakers, who urged Attorney General William Barr to investigate the alleged violation of Second Amendment rights. The couple had already given the handgun to their former attorney Al Watkins, according to Fox 2. Watkins subsequently surrendered the gun to police.
