Mark McCloskey Explains Guilty Plea: ‘By God, I Did It. That’s What the Guns Were For’

Mark and Patricia McCloskey stand in front of their house holding firearms as activists walk through the gated neighborhood in the Central West End of St. Louis, Mo., on June 28, 2020. Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP

Mark and Patricia McCloskey explained why they pleaded guilty to the charges stemming from a viral incident last summer where the couple was seen holding firearms amid Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations in front of their St. Louis home.

The prosecutor, Mark said, “dropped all the felony charges, all the gun charges, and charged me with a crime that said I purposely placed other people in apprehension of imminent fear of physical injury.”