Over the weekend, a St. Louis couple drew national attention after they were captured on video pointing guns at anti-racist protesters marching past their house in the Missouri city’s affluent Central West End neighborhood.
Mark McCloskey, who was armed with an assault rifle in the now-viral video, recently sat down with NBC News affiliate KSDK to share his reasons for pointing the lethal weapon at the protesters.
During the interview, the St. Louis attorney claimed he and his wife feared for their lives.
“We were threatened with our lives, threatened with our house being burned down, my office building being burned down, even our dog’s life being threatened. It was, it was about as bad as it can get.”
“I mean…I really thought it was Storming the Bastille, that we would be dead and the house would be burned and there was nothing we could do about it.”
“It was a huge and frightening crowd.”
See the full interview below.
During the conversation, McCloskey described the incident as a breach of private property.
“Somebody forced the gate, and I stood up and announced that this is private property. Go back.”
“I can’t remember in detail anymore. I went inside, I got a rifle. And when they…because as soon as I said this is private property, those words enraged the crowd. Horde, absolute horde, came through the now smashed down gates coming right at the house.”
When KSDK pressed him and asked if the marchers actually stepped on his private property at any point, McCloskey held firm that trespassing justified his use of the rifle.
“Everything inside the Portland Place gate is private property. There is nothing public in Portland Place. Being inside that gate is like being in my living room.”
“There is no public anything in Portland Place. It is all private property.”
He went on to tout the effectiveness of the gun throughout the incident.
“The only thing that stopped the crowd from approaching the house was when I had that rifle and I was holding ’em. That’s the only thing that stemmed the tide.”
“I can’t blame my wife for being terrified and for doing what she could to protect what she thought was her life…it was, you know, a horrible, horrible event.”
Facebook comments were not so impressed by his rationale.
More formal push back has appeared as well. Despite McCloseky’s comments, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner has announced that the couple is under investigation.
1/ I am alarmed at the events that occurred over the weekend, where peaceful protestors were met by guns and a violent assault. We must protect the right to peacefully protest, and any attempt to chill it through intimidation or threat of deadly force will not be tolerated.
— Kimberly Gardner (@StLouisCityCA) June 29, 2020
2/ My office is currently working with the public and police to investigate these events. Make no mistake: 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.
— Kimberly Gardner (@StLouisCityCA) June 29, 2020
Time will tell if McCloskey’s stance is refuted or allowed by the city.
