St Louis Couple Who Defended Their Property Served With Warrant, Weapons Confiscated

You may remember from a few weeks ago when a St. Louis couple stood outside their home with guns to protect against “peaceful” protesters.

I put “peaceful” in quotes because, while the protesters did not technically attack the couple, they did break down a gate to enter into the private neighborhood where the couple lives, enter onto private property, and verbally threaten the couple.

A couple has come out of their house and is pointing guns at protesters in their neighborhood #StLouis #lydakrewson pic.twitter.com/ZJ8a553PAU

— Daniel Shular (@xshularx) June 29, 2020

Poor gun handling aside, the couple was within their rights to protect their property.  Missouri is a Castle Doctrine state, which permits you broad latitude to use force – even deadly force – to protect yourself and your property.  And it’s clear the couple feared for their lives, safety, and home.

Mark McCloskey, who guarded his private property with an AR-15, told a local news station following the incident, “We were threatened with our lives, threatened with the house being burned down, my office building being burned down, even our dog’s life being threatened.  It was about as bad as you can get.  You know, I really thought it was the storming of 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 and they broke in the gate and they were coming at us.”

Honestly, that sounds terrifying.

Now, a warrant has been served – against the couple.

“5 On Your Side has learned St. Louis police officers executed a search warrant Friday evening at the home of Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the Central West [E]nd couple who confronted protesters with weapons in June,” KSDK News reported.  “Sources tell 5 On Your Side police seized one of the weapons, the rifle, from the couple and they told police their attorney has the pistol seen in photos.”

This is infuriating.  From everything I’ve read, I see NO reason to confiscate the couple’s weapons.  Under Missouri law, it doesn’t appear they did anything wrong.

I hope they fight back with everything they’ve got.