Couple who pointed guns at BLM rally plead guilty

A gun-toting couple who went viral after pointing guns at Black Lives Matter protesters last year pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges on Thursday.

Patricia McCloskey agreed to a charge of harassment and a $2,000 (€1,680) fine, while her husband, Mark, was fined $750 for fourth-degree assault. The weapons the couple used — a military-style rifle for the husband and a handgun for the wife — are also be forfeited and destroyed. Neither will face jail time.

However, the wealthy couple can still legally own firearms and, as professional lawyers, can still practice law.

Mark McCloskey described the outcome as a "good day" for him and his wife. He also agreed with the prosecutor that he had placed other people "in imminent risk of physical injury."

"I sure as heck did, that's what the guns were there for. And I'd do it again anytime a mob approaches me … because that's what's kept them from destroying my house and my family," he said from the courthouse steps.

What happened at the BLM march last June?

The couple pulled out their guns and confronted Black Lives Matter marchers when they approached their mansion in St. Louis. At the time, the protesters were walking over private property owned by a trust, which is funded by residents of the area. There was no evidence that any of the protesters threatened the couple.

Prosecutor Richard Callahan has said the marchers simply made a "wrong turn."

"There was no evidence that any of them had a weapon and no one I interviewed realized they had ventured onto a private enclave," he said.

The couple was previously indicted on felony charges of unlawful use of a weapon and evidence tampering, for allegedly altering the pistol Patricia McCloskey was holding.

Callahan later amended the charges to misdemeanors and dropped the tampering count. He said the misdemeanor plea was reasonable adding that the McCloskeys called the police, no shots were fired and no one was hurt.

"But I think that their conduct was a little unreasonable in the end,'' he said. "I don't think people should view this case as some type of betrayal or assault on the Second Amendment. We still have the Second Amendment rights. It's just that the Second Amendment does not permit unreasonable conduct.''

How does the confrontation play into US politics at large?

The incident went viral online, with both sympathizers of then-President Donald Trump and the supporters of Black Lives Matter discussing the couple's actions. Many view them as heroes. Missouri's Republican Governor Mike Parson pledged to pardon the couple if they were convicted.

In May this year, Mark McCloskey announced he was running for US Senate.

In a campaign video, McCloskey claimed that an "angry mob came to destroy my house and kill my family" but he took "a stand against them."

"I will never back down," he says in the ad.

dj/sms (AFP, AP)