Mark McCloskey became a conservative folk hero after confronting protesters in front of his mansion last summer with an AR-15.
Armed homeowners Mark and Patricia McCloskey stand in front their mansion in St. Louis on June 28, 2020, to confront protesters marching to the mayor’s home. (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, File)
ST. LOUIS (CN) An attorney who waved an AR-15 rifle at civil rights protesters in front of his St. Louis home last year has announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate, telling Fox News on Tuesday night that “God came knocking on my door last summer disguised as an angry mob and it really did wake me up.”
Demonstrators 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 after 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.
Armed homeowners Mark and Patricia McCloskey in front their mansion as they confront protesters marching to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson s house on June 28, 2020.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey became celebrities in conservative circles after the incident on June 28 outside their lavish home in St. Louis’ Central West End.