A couple who went viral on social media after aiming their guns at Black Lives Matter protesters marching outside their property have regained possession of their firearms.
In June 2020, Mark and Patricia McCloskey made national headlines when they were filmed pointing firearms at a group of Black Lives Matter protesters marching past their St. Louis home.
At the time, Mark – a lawyer – claimed that the crowd had broken through an iron gate, “destroying them, rushed towards my home where my family was having dinner outside and put us in fear for our lives,” per BBC News.
He said they ignored a “No Trespassing” sign on their private street en route to the former mayor’s residence.
However, one protester disputed that account, telling the outlet the gate was already unlocked when marchers arrived. “People just walked up to it and opened the gate,” he said, estimating he was the sixth person through. “It looked normal to me when I passed through.”
Still, most legal analysts ultimately agreed that the crowd was trespassing once they entered the private Portland Place neighborhood.
The McCloskeys said they felt threatened and stood outside with guns to protect their property. No one was injured in the incident.
Now, more than five years later, the couple has regained possession of one of those weapons, an AR-15 rifle, after a long and complicated legal battle.
“It only took 3 lawsuits, 2 trips to the Court of Appeals and 1,847 days, but I got my AR15 back!” Mark posted on Friday (August 1) on X, along with several photos of himself holding the firearm.
“We defended our home, were persecuted by the left, smeared by the press, and threatened with death, but we never backed down,” he added.
The McCloskeys were initially charged with unlawful use of a weapon by then-St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt later attempted to dismiss the charges, The New York Post reported.
In 2021, the couple pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and second-degree harassment but were subsequently pardoned by former Missouri Governor Mike Parson.
In a video shared to X, the lawyer is seen retrieving the rifle from a police station. He told Fox News Digital: “That gun may have only been worth $1,500 or something, and it cost me a lot of time and a lot of effort to get it back, but you have to do that. You have to let them know that you will never back down, you’ll never give up.”
The AR-15 had been held by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, while the pistol used by Patricia was held by the St. Louis Sheriff’s Department. Mark has said he expects the pistol to be returned in the coming days.
“Each and every one of us owns a personal responsibility for our freedom and our democratic republic,” he added. “If you’ve been wronged, if you’ve been overreached by the leftist government – you can’t give up. You can’t let them get an inch.”
