Missouri Republican Gov. Mike Parson announced on Tuesday that he had issued pardons for Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the couple who had brandished guns as rioters broke through a gate in their St. Louis community last summer.
The McCloskeys had pleaded guilty to misdemeanors in connection with the June 2020 incident and were ordered to pay fines.
Mark McCloskey, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and was fined $750.
Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to harassment and was given a $2,000 fine. They did not lose their law licenses or their firearms.
Nine Black Lives Matter protesters were issued citations for trespassing in connection with the incident but prosecutors refused to move forward on any of those cases.
Parson had pledged to pardon the McCloskeys if they were prosecuted for their actions.
The McCloskeys “did what they legally should do,” Parson said. “A mob does not have the right to charge your property. They had every right to protect themselves.”
"It's a correction of something that should have never happened in the first place," Mark McCloskey told Fox News after Parson issued the pardons.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner initially lodged weapons and evidence tampering charges against the McCloskeys but was legally removed from the case after defense attorneys argued she exploited the prosecution in a fundraising email to constituents.
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