McCloskey's In the Limelight: Speaking at Next Week's RNC

Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the targets of an unwarranted prosecution by an overzealous Soros-backed St. Louis prosecutor, have been in the news a lot since they protected their home and property with firearms back on June 28. Now, that spotlight is turning into the limelight as Mark and Patricia are slated to speak at next week’s Republican National Convention.

Most Firearms News readers will remember that when an unruly crowd broke open a gate into the McCloskey’s private neighborhood, ostensibly to find Mayor Lyda Krewson’s house and call for her resignation, the couple, which owns a St. Louis law firm, reportedly called police to report the intrusion. As yelling trespassers by the dozen, many armed, streamed through the gate, which was marked with a sign that read “Private Property, No Trespassing,” the couple armed themselves and stood in front of their home.

Despite no crime being committed, St. Louis Circuit Prosecutor Kim Gardner, a darling of left-wing media and social causes who accepted nearly $80,000 from the George Soros-funded Missouri Justice and Public Safety PAC already this election cycle, decided to prosecute anyway. Since then, she has come under fire for using the case in a fundraising email and for illegally failing to report multiple trips paid for by donors.

The invitation for the McCloskeys to speak at the convention surely was at least partially designed to Gardner a little nationwide jab over her unjust prosecution of the couple. However, the speaking opportunity also reveals the huge difference between the party’s stance on gun rights compared to that of the Democrats, who dedicated much of the third night of their convention to pushing more restrictive gun laws.

Of course, gun-hating media went apoplectic when word got out that the couple would be speaking at the convention. But few took it as hard as the Riverfront Times, St. Louis’s self-proclaimed “alternative newsweekly.”

“It was inevitable,” the outlet published in a story under a sarcastic headline. “The circle of bullshit that began when a rifle-toting Mark McCloskey yelled at a group of protesters in the Central West End to ‘Get the hell out of my neighborhood!’ has arced through cable news, tabloids and the city prosecutor's office, and it has finally come to lodge itself where it belongs: next week's Republican National Convention.”

For a “newsweekly” of any type, that’s pretty biased reporting. Of course, they’re “woke,” dontcha know!

It’s my bet more people will tune in to hear the McCloskeys speak than watched the entire Democrat Convention. Too bad gun haters across the country aren’t likely do so, as they might learn a thing or two about armed self-defense.

Freelance writer and editor Mark Chesnut is the owner/editorial director at Red Setter Communications LLC. An avid hunter, shooter and political observer, he has been covering Second Amendment issues and politics on a near-daily basis for the past 20 years.

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