Court Suspends Law Licenses of Couple Who Defended Home During BLM Standoff, Then Stays Suspension 1 Year
Mark and Patricia McCloskey are being hit with legal sanctions.
The McCloskeys famously stood outside their home with firearms after a mob of Black Lives Matter rioters broke into their gated neighborhood and harassed residents in June 2020.
In two rulings issued on Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court suspended the McCloskeys’ law licenses. They are both lawyers.
The court stayed the suspensions on the condition of one year of probation. The ruling means the couple can still practice law as long as they do not violate their probation, according to The Associated Press.
Mark McCloskey accused the Missouri Supreme Court of legal bias.
“I think the reason why we were asked to be suspended had more to do with politics than anything else,” the conservative attorney said. “But we respect the Supreme Court’s opinion, although we disagree. … We will comply 100 percent with the orders.”
The couple originally faced felony charges that could’ve permanently cost them their law licenses.
They ultimately pleaded guilty to reduced misdemeanor assault charges in the case and were ordered to pay small fines. Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson pardoned the couple last year.
Mark McCloskey denies any wrongdoing in the incident.
“That’s what the guns were there for and I’d do it again any time the mob approaches me,” he said following the plea.
“In other words, I stood out on the porch with my rifle and made them back up. And that’s what I’d do again. If that’s a crime in Missouri, by G** I did it, and I’d do it again.”
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
The Democratic prosecutor who charged the couple for the confrontation at their home was barred from overseeing the case.
Kim Gardner sent two fundraising emails from a campaign account bragging of the charges to her supporters.
Mark McCloskey is currently running for U.S. Senate in Missouri.
None of the Black Lives Matter rioters who broke into the McCloskeys’ neighborhood faced any criminal charges.
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