The St. Louis couple that gained national notoriety in 2020 for brandishing firearms at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home has finally retrieved one of those weapons after an extended legal battle.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who are attorneys, became viral figures in the summer of 2020 when they were photographed wielding guns on their front lawn while demonstrators moved through their private neighborhood.
According to the couple, they felt endangered when protesters breached a gate and disregarded ‘No Trespassing’ signs on their private street, although no one was harmed during the incident.
Now, five years since the viral incident, Mark released a video on X showing himself reclaiming the AR-15 rifle from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, marking the end of the protracted process to recover the firearm.
He wrote: ‘It only took 3 lawsuits, 2 trips to the Court of Appeals and 1,847 days, but I got my AR15 back!’
‘We defended our home, were persecuted by the left, smeared by the press, and threatened with death, but we never backed down,’ he added.
The McCloskeys were initially charged with unlawful use of a weapon.
The McCloskeys subsequently pleaded guilty to misdemeanor offenses in 2021, with Mark admitting to fourth-degree assault and Patricia to second-degree harassment; they also consented to relinquish the guns.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, both attorneys, went viral during the summer of 2020 when they were seen armed on their front lawn as demonstrators passed through their private neighborhood.
The St. Louis couple who drew national attention in 2020 has regained possession of one of those weapons after a yearslong legal dispute. Pictured: Mark McCloskey retrieves his AR-15 from the St. Louis Police Department
Five years after the viral spectacle, Mark posted a video to X showing himself collecting the AR-15 rifle from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, writing, ‘It only took 3 lawsuits, 2 trips to the Court of Appeals and 1,847 days, but I got my AR15 back!’
However, the couple was pardoned by Missouri Governor Mike Parson shortly thereafter.
In 2024, a Missouri appeals court approved the expungement of those misdemeanor convictions, and under state law, the ruling meant the offenses were effectively erased from the couple’s records – paving the way for them to reclaim the confiscated firearms.
‘That gun may have only been worth $1,500 or something, and it cost me a lot of time and a lot of effort to get it back, but you have to do that,’ Mark told Fox News Digital. ‘You have to let them know that you will never back down.’
According to Mark, the AR-15 had been in the possession of St. Louis police, while Patricia’s Bryco .380-caliber pistol was held by the St. Louis Sheriff’s Department.
He said he expects the pistol to be returned sometime next week.
The firearms were initially ordered destroyed after the couple entered their guilty pleas. However, court proceedings later revealed that both weapons still existed.
Mark sued in 2021 to get the guns back, but his request was denied multiple times.
He eventually prevailed following the expungement ruling last month, which came despite opposition from city attorneys, who argued the couple still posed a threat and cited McCloskey’s use of the incident in political advertisements during his unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign.
‘That gun may have only been worth $1,500 or something, and it cost me a lot of time and a lot of effort to get it back, but you have to do that,’ Mark said. Pictured: Mark McCloskey holding his AR-15 rifle
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, standing in front of their house along Portland Place, confront protesters on June 28, 2020
‘Each and every one of us owns a personal responsibility for our freedom and our democratic republic,’ Mark said on Friday. Pictured: Mark and Patricia McCloskey
He also noted that the protesters’ statements addressed only perceived threats on the day of the incident, not any ongoing danger.
Judge Joseph P. Whyte rejected those arguments, the Daily Mail previously reported, writing in his decision that the court was bound to rule based on the expungement statute and not on political grounds.
He also noted that the protesters’ statements addressed only perceived threats on the day of the incident, not any ongoing danger.
The case drew national attention and political reaction at the time, with President Donald Trump and several Republican leaders expressing support for the St Louis natives.
The couple later appeared in a video message during the 2020 Republican National Convention.
‘Each and every one of us owns a personal responsibility for our freedom and our democratic republic,’ Mark said on Friday.
