Missouri’s chief disciplinary counsel is asking the Missouri Supreme Court to suspend the law licenses of Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the couple who waved guns at Black Lives Matter protesters in St. Louis last year.
via: Revolt
In his Monday (Sept. 20) filing, Missouri Chief Disciplinary Counsel Alan Pratzel referenced the 2020 incident. Mark previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and was ordered to pay a $750 fine, while his wife pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment and had to pay $2,000.
Pratzel, whose office is tasked with investigating ethical complaints against Missouri lawyers, said the couple’s crimes showed an “indifference to public safety.” In his filing, he also accused the McCloskeys of “moral turpitude” and said that although Missouri Gov. Mike Parson pardoned their crimes, their “guilt remains.”
As reported by REVOLT, protesters marched by the McCloskeys’ home in June of 2020 after the police murder of George Floyd. The couple emerged from their home with an AR-15-style rifle and a semiautomatic pistol aimed at the demonstrators, their indictment states. No shots were fired during the confrontation and no one was injured.
Even after being charged and entering their guilty pleas this June, the couple defended their actions.
“I’d do it again,” Mark, who is currently running to be Missouri’s next Republican senator, said after his hearing. “Anytime the mob approaches me, I’ll do what I can to put them in imminent threat of physical injury because that’s what kept them from destroying my house and my family.”
The couple doubled down on the stance on Tuesday (Sept. 21), saying that the governor’s pardoning of their crimes validated their actions.
“Mark McCloskey has publicly stated that if he were involved in the same situation, he would have the exact same conduct,” the couple’s attorney Joel Schwartz said. “He believes that the pardon vindicates that conduct.”
They should have done jail time.
