August 04, 2021
By Mark Chesnut
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who were indicted last year after protecting their home in a gated neighborhood from a large crowd of rioters, have now been pardoned of the misdemeanors they pleaded guilty to earlier this summer.
Most Firearms News readers will remember the incident at McCloskey’s home last June, which we covered extensively in the following weeks and months. When an unruly crowd broke open a gate into the couple’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 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.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, who had said all along that he would pardon the McCloskey’s if they were convicted of a crime in the widely publicized self-defense incident, granted full pardons to the couple on July 30. Mark had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and Patricia had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of harassment to finally put the incident behind them.
“Today we are incredibly thankful that Governor Mike Parson righted this wrong and granted us pardons,” McCloskey said in a released statement.
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Many observers, including then-President Donald Trump, felt that Soros-supported prosecutor Kim Gardner had targeted the McCloskey’s for political reasons from the start. Her malfeasance in handling the case eventually resulted in her being dismissed by the judge in charge of the proceedings.
As McCloskey put it: “If you've got an ‘R’ behind your name, you're subject to one kind of justice system, and if you have a ‘D,’ you're subjected to another.”
Since the incident, Mark McCloskey has used his newfound star power to launch a run for one of Missouri’s U.S. Senate seats.
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“When the angry mob came to destroy my house and kill my family, I took a stand against them,” McCloskey said in an advertisement kicking off his campaign. “Now I’m asking for the privilege to take that stand for all of us.”
In the commercial, McCloskey vows to defend the people of Missouri and all American citizens with the same fervor he used in defending his own home.
“I will never back down,” he said. “Our nation is under attack—big tech, big business, the swamp in D.C. are all working together to destroy our God-given freedom, our culture and our heritage. When was the last time a politician defended you, defended America, stood between you and the mob?”
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.
