The St. Louis couple that famously brandished guns when protesters stormed their property last month was reportedly charged Monday with unlawful use of a weapon—exhibiting, which is a felony in Missouri.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, citing charging documents, reported that Mark McCloskey pointed an AR-15 rifle at protesters who were in fear that he would open fire and cause injury.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner, who has faced mounting criticism from Republicans for attempting to prosecute the victims in the case, said in a statement obtained by the paper that the protesters who broke down the fence of the gated community and allegedly threatened the lives of McCloskey and his wife were “met by guns and a violent assault.”
“We will not tolerate the use of force against those exercising their First Amendment rights, and will use the full power of Missouri law to hold people accountable.”
The city had issued a search warrant during its investigation and took their guns, including an AR-15.
McCloskey, who expected to be charged earlier, said he and his wife grabbed their weapons and defended their home when a violent mob tore down a gate and invaded their private neighborhood. He said some members of the mob were armed and others threatened to burn down the mansion and kill the family dog.
“I was just defending myself, my family and my home from hundreds of people who stormed through the gate. This is a shocking and terrifying experience,” he told the “Todd Starnes Radio Show.”
Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, told the “Todd Starnes Show” on Monday that he hopes the St. Louis couple at the center of an investigation after a confrontation last month with protesters sues the “ever-living daylights” out of the prosecutor and end up with a multi-million-dollar judgment.
Huckabee called it a scary situation and pointed out that the prosecutors had no interest in prosecuting those who broke into the gated neighborhood who threatened to kill “a man, his wife, their dog and burn their house down.”
Click here to listen to Todd’s interview with Gov. Huckabee.
“That seems to be OK,” Huckabee said. “But God help you if you use your Second, Fourth and Fifth Amendments rights to protect your property and to use the Second Amendment guarantee to be able to defend yourself when the cops aren’t able to come and take care of it.”
