{"id":156637,"date":"2022-01-06T12:37:22","date_gmt":"2022-01-06T17:37:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=156637"},"modified":"2022-01-06T12:37:22","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T00:25:08","slug":"the-mccloskeys-guns-werent-destroyed-now-theyre-suing-to-get-them-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-mccloskeys-guns-werent-destroyed-now-theyre-suing-to-get-them-back\/","title":{"rendered":"The McCloskey\u2019s Guns Weren\u2019t Destroyed. Now They\u2019re Suing to Get Them Back."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"The
Mark McCloskey is running for Senate on a pro-2A platform. (Photo: Mark McCloskey Twitter)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The guns used by Mark and Patricia McCloskey during a now-infamous incident in front of their St. Louis home weren\u2019t destroyed last year, despite a court order to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, after being pardoned by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, the couple is suing to get them back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe loss of that property would certainly be a legal disqualification, impediment or other legal disadvantage, of which I have now been absolved by the governor, and therefore the state no longer has any legitimate reason to hold the property,\u201d Mark McCloskey said at a hearing this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The couple earned national attention in 2020 for brandishing two firearms at Black Lives Matter protestors who had broken into their gated neighborhood. Mark McCloskey stood outside holding a Colt AR-15 while his wife brandished a Bryco handgun chambered in .380.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one was injured and no shots were fired, but the McCloskeys pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges and the guns were supposed to be destroyed. For some reason, that never happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEE ALSO: Grand Jury Indicts McCloskeys on Felony Charges<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cObviously with our customary efficiency, we should have destroyed (the weapons) months ago,\u201d Robert Dierker of the St. Louis City Counselor\u2019s Office said at the hearing. \u201cWe haven\u2019t. So, McCloskey\u2019s a beneficiary of bureaucratic, I want to say, ineptitude. But in any event, it\u2019s fortuitous that the weapons still exist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The McCloskeys haven\u2019t been wanting for firearms. Back in June, the couple posted pictures<\/a> of themselves purchasing new firearms, and at least 50 people have offered to replace<\/a> the AR-15 that was seized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, now that the McCloskeys have been pardoned, they\u2019re asking the courts to return their property and reimburse them for the fines they accrued. They\u2019ve asked the court to refund $872.50 in fines paid, and they\u2019ve estimated the value of the handgun at $400 and the rifle at $1,500, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEE ALSO: St. Louis Couple Who Defended Themselves from BLM Protesters Speak at 2020 RNC<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The city argues that while the governor\u2019s pardon removed the convictions, it did not obliterate the plea bargain in which the McCLoskeys forfeited their guns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe do not think he can demonstrate the right to immediate possession,\u201d Dierker said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Circuit Judge Joan Moriarty is currently considering the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The couple, both of whom are lawyers, has tried to stay in the public eye since the incident. They\u2019ve spoken<\/a> at the Republican National Convention and made an appearance<\/a> at the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. Mark McCloskey is also running for the U.S. Senate seat in Missouri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My name is everywhere.

The people love freedom-fighters.

Where I go, freedom will follow. People are noticing! pic.twitter.com\/GLDOVYr1Jm<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Mark McCloskey (@mccloskeyusa) October 27, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>