Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said on July 20 that he will “without a doubt” pardon Mark and Patricia McCloskey. He made the remarks just hours after felony charges were filed against the St. Louis couple who wielded guns as a crowd moved past their property last month.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner filed charges against the McCloskeys, who brandished their personal firearms when dozens of people entered their private neighborhood through a gate marked “Private Street” on June 28.
Parson on Monday said that Missouri state has a “castle doctrine” principle that allows individuals, in certain situations, to protect themselves, their family or their property.
The statute, titled the “use of force in defense of persons,” permits people to employ deadly force if people enter their homes without consent. It also says that a person doesn’t “have a duty to retreat from a dwelling, residence, or vehicle where the person is not unlawfully entering or unlawfully remaining” and “from private property that is owned or leased by such individual.”
The Republican governor told Fox News’s Sean Hannity that he would pardon the pair “without a doubt.” He said Monday marked a “sad day” for the state, referring to the felony charges filed against the McCloskeys, which include unlawful use of a weapon and a misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree assault.
“I will do everything within the Constitution of the State of Missouri to protect law-abiding citizens and those people are exactly that,” Parson said Monday. “They are law-abiding citizens, and they’re being attacked frankly by a political process that’s really unfortunate.”
The governor said he had discussed the matter with President Donald Trump, who also agreed that the St. Louis couple should not be facing felony charges.
“They had every right to protect their property, their home, just like any of us would,” Parson continued. “If you had a mob coming towards you, whether they tore down a gate or not, when they come on your property, they don’t have a right to do that in an aggressive manner. People have a right to protect their selves, their families, their property.”
“Even worse, the circuit attorney’s office has admitted there is a backlog of cases and dozens of homicides that haven’t been prosecuted, yet she has accelerated this case forward,” Parson added.
Separately, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt on Monday night filed a brief seeking to dismiss charges against the couple.
The brief cites the Second Amendment and says that “the attorney general respectfully requests that the court dismiss this case at the earliest possible opportunity.”
