ST. LOUIS (KTVI) — Mark and Patricia McCloskey both pleaded guilty Thursday to misdemeanor charges related to an incident in which they waved guns at protesters outside their Missouri home last year.
Mark McCloskey pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault. He faces a $750 fine but no jail time. Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment. She was fined $2,000 and will not face jail time.
They both agreed to forfeit their guns, which will be destroyed.
Last month, a special prosecutor amended the charges against Patricia McCloskey. He filed a new indictment giving jurors the alternative of convicting McCloskey of misdemeanor harassment instead of the weapons charge.
Last year, a grand jury indicted Patricia McCloskey and her husband, Mark, on felony charges of unlawful use of a weapon and evidence tampering.
On June 28, protesters were marching to the home of then-Mayor Lyda Krewson amid nationwide protests after police killed George Floyd in Minneapolis. The protesters ventured onto a private street that includes the McCloskey mansion.
The couple, both of them attorneys in their early 60s, said they felt threatened, saying protesters broke down an iron gate and ignored a “No Trespassing” sign. Protest leaders denied damaging the gate and said the march was peaceful.
Mark McCloskey came out of his home with an AR-15-style rifle and Patricia McCloskey emerged with a semiautomatic handgun. Cellphone video captured the confrontation.
Richard Callahan, a longtime judge and former U.S. attorney, was appointed special prosecutor after a judge in December ruled that Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner created an appearance of impropriety by mentioning the McCloskey case in fundraising emails before the August Democratic primary. Gardner went on to win reelection.
The McCloskeys emerged as celebrities in conservative circles. They spoke on video during last summer’s Republican National Convention, and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has vowed to issue pardons if they are convicted.
Mark McCloskey is running as a Republican for the U.S. Senate.
Their trial was scheduled to start Nov. 1.
