The white St. Louis couple who pointed guns at protesters as they walked by their home has been indicted by a grand jury on multiple charges.
According to NBC News, Mark and Patricia McCloskey were caught on camera standing in front of their home pointing a handgun and a semi-automatic rifle at peaceful protesters back in June. On Tuesday (Oct. 6), Attorney Joel Schwartz announced that a grand jury charged his clients with two counts each for tampering with evidence and exhibiting a weapon. Schwartz also said his clients will deal with the charges, which he called “baseless.”
Following the incident, Mark and Patricia filed a police report with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department on which they are listed as “victims” in the incident. In the report, the couple claimed they were “threatened with [their] lives” and “observed multiple [protesters] who were armed.” Video footage showed that the McCloskeys were already armed when protesters arrived.
Albert S. Watkins, the couple’s previous attorney, told the St. Louis American that his clients support the Black Lives Matter movement and were protecting themselves against a few white agitators.
“Their actions were borne solely of fear and apprehension, the genesis of which was not race-related. In fact, the agitators responsible for the trepidation were white,” he said. “The peaceful protesters were not the subject of scorn or disdain by the McCloskeys. To the contrary, they were expecting and supportive of the message of the protesters.”
“The Black Lives Matter movement is here to stay, it is the right message, and it is about time,” Watkins added. “The McCloskeys want to make sure no one thinks less of BLM, its message and the means it is employing to get its message out because of the actions of a few white individuals who tarnished a peaceful protest.”
In August, the couple spoke about their right to bear arms the Republican National Convention. Patricia also claimed Democrats were out to “abolish” suburbs “by ending single-family home zoning.”