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The St. Louis couple who gained notoriety in 2020 for brandishing firearms as Black Lives Matter demonstrators marched near their property have successfully retrieved their semiautomatic rifle.
Following a lengthy legal battle to reclaim their weapons, which were confiscated by authorities over five years ago, the St. Louis lawyers Mark and Patricia McCloskey have been reunited with their AR-15.
“It took three lawsuits, two trips to the Court of Appeals, and 1,847 days, but I finally got my AR-15 back!” Mark McCloskey shared on his social media account, along with images of him holding the gun.
“We defended our home, faced persecution, endured negative press coverage, and received death threats, but we never backed down.”
In another social media post, Mark McCloskey posted a video of himself retrieving the rifle from a police station.
After a yearslong and complex legal struggle to reclaim their weapons, police have returned an AR-15 to St. Louis lawyers Mark and Patricia McCloskey. (@mccloskeyusa via X)
“That gun may have only been worth $1,500 or something, and it cost me a lot of time and effort to get it back, but you have to do that,” Mark McCloskey told Fox News Digital, mentioning that he owns other firearms. “You have to let them know that you will never back down, you’ll never give up.”
He anticipates that their pistol, used by Patricia McCloskey during the incident, will be returned by next week. The AR-15 was in the possession of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, while the pistol was with the St. Louis Sheriff’s Department, according to Mark McCloskey.
“Each individual bears a personal responsibility for safeguarding our freedom and democratic republic,” Mark McCloskey emphasized.
In June 2020, a video of the McCloskeys brandishing guns went viral after a group of Black Lives Matter protesters broke through an iron gate and ignored a “No Trespassing” sign on their private street.
Patricia and Mark McCloskey draw their guns on protesters as they enter their neighborhood during a protest against St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson in St. Louis June 28, 2020. (Reuters)
The couple, feeling threatened, armed themselves before going outside to deter the crowd, which was heading to the former mayor’s residence. Fortunately, no one was harmed.
Following the incident, their weapons were confiscated by law enforcement, and they were charged with unlawful use of a weapon by St. Louis’ former Democratic prosecutor, Kim Gardner. However, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt later moved to dismiss the charges brought by Gardner.
In 2021, the McCloskeys pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and second-degree harassment but were subsequently pardoned by former Missouri Gov. Mike Parson.
Former Missouri Gov. Mike Parson delivers the State of the State address Jan. 18, 2023, in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Last month, a Missouri appeals court confirmed the expungement of the McCloskeys’ misdemeanor convictions, effectively erasing the incident under state law, Mark McCloskey noted.
“If you’ve been wronged, if you’ve been overreached by the leftist government, you can’t give up,” Mark McCloskey emphasized. “You can’t allow them to gain any ground.”
The St. Louis Sheriff’s Office and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department did not respond immediately to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
