Photo: Armed homeowners standing in front their house along Portland Place confront protesters marching to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson’s house earlier this month in the Central West End of St. Louis. The protesters called for Krewson’s resignation for releasing the names and addresses of residents who suggested defunding the police department. (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
O’FALLON, Mo. (AP) – U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley on Thursday urged Attorney General William Barr to launch a federal civil rights investigation of St. Louis’ elected prosecutor, accusing her of abuse of power in her investigation of a white couple who wielded guns while defending their home during a protest.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey are under Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s scrutiny for the June 28 confrontation when several hundred protesters marched by their $1.15 million mansion. The couple accused protesters of knocking down an iron gate marked with “No Trespassing” and “Private Street” signs.
The McCloskeys, both in their 60s, emerged with weapons — him with a long-barreled gun, her with a small handgun.
Their actions, captured on video and viewed by millions, drew praise from some who said they were legally defending their home, but scorn from others who said they risked bloodshed by displaying the weapons. Photos emerged as memes on both sides of the gun debate.
Gardner’s office was still investigating, but no charges have been filed. Hawley, a Missouri Republican, wrote in a letter to Barr that Gardner abused her power in seizing the couple’s guns, investigating them and pursuing a possible indictment. He called her actions “an unacceptable abuse of power and threat to the Second Amendment.”
“There is no question under Missouri law that the McCloskeys had the right to own and use their firearms to protect themselves from threatened violence, and that any criminal prosecution for these actions is legally unsound,” Hawley wrote. “The only possible motivation for the investigation, then, is a politically motivated attempt to punish this family for exercising their Second Amendment rights.”
Gardner, in a statement, said, “I am deeply disappointed that a U.S. Senator would intervene in a local matter that is under investigation.”
Hawley isn’t the only high-level Republican to express concerns about Gardner’s investigation. The case caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who spoke about it in a phone conversation with Gov. Mike Parson on Tuesday.
When he was in the Legislature, Parson co-authored Missouri’s “castle doctrine” law that justifies deadly force for those who are defending their homes from intruders. He said the McCloskeys “had every right to protect their property.”
Several Black leaders in St. Louis have expressed support for Gardner. The Rev. Darryl Gray, who has led several protests, said her critics are creating a volatile situation.
“Kim has received death threats from all across this country and in the climate that this president has created, Mike Parson and Josh Hawley are simply piling on, and their comments only serve to fan the fires of hatred and discord in this country,” Gray said.
Gardner, St. Louis’ first Black circuit attorney, has been at odds with some in the St. Louis establishment since her election in 2016. Most notably, her office charged then-Gov. Eric Greitens with felony invasion of privacy in 2018 for allegedly taking a compromising photo of a woman during an extra-marital affair.
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