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McCloskey’s Agree To Forfeit Guns, Plead Guilty To Misdemeanors

(Photo Courtesy of the Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Committee via Getty Images)

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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Mark and Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty Thursday to misdemeanor charges and agreed to forfeit the specific guns that they brandished on their property, The Associated Press reported.

Mark pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and received a $750 fine. His wife, Patricia, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment and was fined $2,000, the AP reported. (RELATED: Mark McCloskey Announces Senate Bid In Missouri)

While the couple has to forfeit the guns used in the incident, they can continue to own firearms, according to the AP. A spokesperson for McCloskey’s senate campaign told the Daily Caller the state was supposedly adamant about the couple giving up their guns. The McCloskey’s asked to donate the weapons but were denied, the spokesman said.

Mark later tweeted and clarified he was not “surrendering” any of his other firearms and the “two weapons that were seized … were evidence in a criminal case,” and per state laws must be incinerated.

The McCloskey’s, both of whom are lawyers, were captured on video in June of 2020 brandishing weapons on their St. Louis property as a large group of protesters marched past their home. Mark was seen armed with a rifle while Patricia held a handgun.

Mark could be heard telling the crowd “private property, get out” while some protesters could be heard telling the rest of the group to “keep moving.”

The protesters were on their way to Democratic Mayor Lyda Krewson’s home to demand her resignation.

During Thursday’s hearing, Judge David Mason asked if Mark acknowledged that his actions put people at risk, according to the AP.

“I sure did your honor,” Mark reportedly replied.

While leaving the courthouse, Mark said he would “do it again,” according to the report.

“One year ago, an angry mob crashed through my gate, and threatened my wife, my family and my home,” Mark said in a statement obtained by the Daily Caller. “The prosecutor dropped all charges against me, except for a claim that I put other people in imminent fear of physical harm. That’s exactly what I did, that’s what the guns were for.”

“Any time the mob comes and threatens me, I’ll do the same thing again to protect my family,” he continued.

A grand jury indicted the couple in October for brandishing the weapons and tampering with evidence. Both Mark and Patricia were charged with one count of felony unlawful use of a weapon by St. Louis Circuit attorney Kim Gardner, who argued the display of guns threatened the protesters.

Mark, however, argued he feared for his life during the incident.

“I was terrified that we’d be murdered within seconds,” Mark said in an interview with KMOV. “Our house would be burned down, our pets would be killed.”

The duo pleaded not guilty to charges of unlawful use of a weapon in October, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

A Missouri Court of Appeals later ruled Gardner could not prosecute Mark after emails showed she used the case for fundraising purposes.