OPINION: A St. Louis couple who defended their private property against a rampaging mob that broke into their gated community has been indicted by a grand jury.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey were indicted on charges of unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with evidence, according to their attorney Al Watkins. Watkins accused the prosecutors of tampering with the pistol by assembling it in a way that it could be fired.
“This is b——t,” Watkins told Fox News. “Hate to say it, but the state has a lot of problems with this one. And they transcend not just the evidence, but they actually are remarkably problematic from the standpoint of prosecutorial misconduct.”
Nine protesters were charged with misdemeanor trespassing last month after the literally broke down an iron gate and illegally entered the neighborhood, but the city counselor’s office eventually dropped the charges.
McCloskey said outside the courthouse that he and his wife are being “persecuted” and expressed frustration that none of the protesters involved in the incident have been charged.
“Every single human being that was in front of my house was a criminal trespasser. They broke down our gate. They trespassed on our property. Not a single one of those people is now charged with anything. We’re charged with felonies that could cost us four years of our lives and our law licenses,” he said.