Mark and Patricia McCloskey of St. Louis, Missouri, were each given a pardon by Gov. Mike Parson (R) on Monday for their role in brandishing guns at a passing crowd of protesters last year. The protestors marched following George Floyd's murder by then-police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mark waved a high-powered rifle at the demonstrators, and Patricia held a semiautomatic pistol. Mark pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and paid a $750 fine, while Patricia pleaded guilty to harassment and a $2,000 fine. On the courthouse steps, Mark declared, "I would do it again."
Following their charges in 2020, Parson stated that he would grant a pardon to the McCloskeys if they were proven guilty.
Initially, the pair faced felony charges of unlawful use of a weapon from St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner. But after agreeing to the lesser charges, they were ultimately convicted of misdemeanors.
The incident brought the couple to the national stage, and they addressed the Republican National Convention as a result. Mark McCloskey has also launched a Senate bid for 2022.
Let that would have been one of us…. We would still be locked up with Whistler..
They make it plain and simple we just gotta accept what we see
Yep! Them people staying on code! Black people wake up!
All these examples of other communities staying on code. It's bout high time we do the same cuz we desperately lack this type of solidarity.