Two lawyers who went viral for brandishing guns at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their mansion in Missouri last year have pleaded guilty to misdemeanour charges.
Key points:
- The couple were filmed outside their St Louis mansion with guns pointed at peaceful protesters
- They have been fined a combined $US2,750
- Mark McCloskey said he “would do it again”
Mark and Patricia McCloskey were filmed holding guns and shouting at protesters to keep off their property on June 28.
A St Louis grand jury indicted the couple on felony unlawful use of a weapon and tampering charges in October, four months after the incident.
On Thursday, Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to misdemeanour second-degree harassment, and her husband pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanour fourth-degree assault.
Ms McCloskey was fined $US2,000, and Mr McCloskey $US750. They were also ordered to turn over the weapons used in the incident.
Videos showed the McCloskeys shouting at protesters, who were apparently unarmed, to keep off their property.
Patricia McCloskey pointed a handgun at the crowd while her husband held a semi-automatic weapon, standing outside their mansion.
The two later said they were frightened for their lives.
The protests were part of a nationwide wave of demonstrations over police violence against black people following the May 2020 killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer.
In July, then-president Donald Trump, a Republican, said charging the couple was an abuse of power. The McCloskeys spoke, from their home, at the Republican National Convention in August. Mark McCloskey announced last month that he would be running for a US Senate seat in Missouri as a Republican.
Special prosecutor Richard Callahan said in a statement to local media on Thursday that he approved the plea because of the couple’s age, lack of a criminal record and the fact that no-one was hurt and no shots were fired.
“The prosecutor dropped every charge except for alleging that I purposely placed other people in imminent risk of physical injury, right, and I sure as heck did,” Mr McCloskey said after the court hearing.
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