Mark and Patricia McCloskey have been indicted by a grand jury on evidence tampering and felony weapon charges.
The lawyer couple receive national media attention when they came out of their mansion and pointed guns at BLM demonstrators walking past their property in St. Louis neighborhood on June 28.
They were each issued one count for tampering with evidence and one count of exhibiting a weapon after a heated argument with protesters outside their home.
The McCloskeys said the protesters ignored a ‘No Trespassing’ sign and destroyed an iron gate near their mansion.
Patricia, 61, emerged from their home with a semiautomatic handgun and her husband Mark, 63, showed an AR-15 rifle.
The two were initially charged with one count each of unlawful use of a weapon. The grand jury then added the charge of tampering with evidence.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner said the weapons created the risk of bloodshed.
The police probable cause statement said demonstrators feared ‘being injured due to Patricia McCloskey’s finger being on the trigger, coupled with her excited demeanor.’
The couple’s attorney, Joel Schwartz, told the Post-Dispatch: “I am not surprised that the grand jury indicted them but I’ll certainly be interested in what was presented to the grand jury.”
He also said that he plans to request a recording or transcript of the hearing.
After hearing the charges against them, McCloskey said: “What you are witnessing here is just an opportunity for the government, the leftist, democrat government of the City of St. Louis to persecute us for doing no more than exercising our Second Amendment rights.”
“They broke down our gate, they trespassed on our property. Not a single one of those people are now charged with anything. … We’re charged with felonies that could cost us four years of our lives and our law license,” he added, KMOV4 reported.
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Replaced!