An online petition demanding that the McCloskeys be disbarred for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon now has 22,000 signatures.
“It was like the storming of the Bastille, the gate came down and a large crowd of angry, aggressive people poured through,” Mark McCloskey told local news station KMOV4. “I was terrified that we’d be murdered within seconds. Our house would be burned down, our pets would be killed.”
Maxi Glamour, a protest organizer, told 5 On Your Side that Patricia McCloskey “had her finger on the trigger pointing at people, shaking it around, and with the slip a finger she could have killed someone.”
One could easily see the guns, the threats against people of color, and the obsession with old European grandeur and suspect the couple of having white supremacist leanings. Historically, examples of classical art and design have been adopted by nationalists who see them as symbols of purity—both Hitler and Mussolini were big fans, and, in recent years, it’s been similarly appropriated by white supremacists.
The McCloskeys’ attorney, Albert Watkins, wanted to make it clear that his clients do not fit into this category though. He claimed that, despite the optics of the episode, the couple are actually supporters of the movement represented by the protesters.
“The most important thing for them is that their images (holding the guns) don’t become the basis for a rallying cry for people who oppose the Black Lives Matter message,” said Watkins in a statement to CBS. “They want to make it really clear that they believe the Black Lives Matter message is important.”
In a tweet, St. Louis circuit attorney Kim Gardner said her office is looking into the incident, adding, “We must protect the right to peacefully protest, and any attempt to chill it through intimidation or threat of deadly force will not be tolerated.”
An online petition demanding that the McCloskeys be disbarred for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon now has 22,000 signatures.
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