A judge is reportedly going to dismiss St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner and her office from prosecuting a case involving the McCloskeys.
Lawyers argued in a motion to disqualify Gardner that she has a personal interest in the case and jeopardized a right to a fair trial because of fundraising emails that mentioned their clients. A source familiar with the case told 5 On Your Side in a report published Thursday that a St. Louis judge is expected to dismiss the case, after which a special prosecutor will need to be appointed.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, both in their 60s, were thrust into the national spotlight in late June when cameras caught them brandishing weapons outside their home as protesters walked by in their gated community. The protesters were headed to the house of St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson and demand her resignation after she read aloud the personal information of people who had advocated for defunding the local police department.
Following the incident, a grand jury filed an indictment against the couple, charging them with unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with evidence. The McCloskeys, who pleaded not guilty to both charges, claim the protesters were threatening to kill them and take over their property.
Gardner, a Democrat who is prosecuting the case, has been subject to intense scrutiny, including reporting that found she failed to report trips paid for by activist groups. The McCloskeys took particular issue with Gardner saying in fundraising emails that President Trump and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, were “fighting for the two who pointed guns at citizens during the Black Lives Matter protests.” She raised more than $17,000 during a weeklong period in July after she announced that she was charging the couple.
Gardner, in her response to the motion to remove her from the case, argued that “not a single word in either campaign email (indicates) whether she would prosecute the defendants and how she might pursue an outcome in that case,” and she claimed the emails were supposed to “fight back against the unprecedented level of verbal attacks from prominent Republicans and right-wing media.”
The neighborhood incident made the McCloskeys high-profile figures in the political world, leading to interviews on Fox News and a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in August.
Parson has suggested that he would pardon the McCloskeys if they are found guilty of any crimes.
