St. Louis couple Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who gained national attention in 2020 for standing outside their home toting guns as protesters walked by, were placed on probation as lawyers Tuesday.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled to suspend the McCloskeys’ law licenses but opted to delay the suspension and instead put them on probation for a year, as reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Under probation, the two will still be allowed to practice law.
“Should probation be revoked and the suspension take effect, no petition for reinstatement shall be entertained for a period of six months from the date the suspension becomes effective,” said Chief Justice Paul Wilson.
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The couple works together at the McCloskey Law Center, focusing on personal injury, medical malpractice, and defective products cases.
The husband and wife, who gained national attention in the summer of 2020 after brandishing firearms at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their St. Louis home, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in June over the incident. They were pardoned by Gov. Mike Parson in August, but Missouri Chief Disciplinary Counsel Alan Pratzel asked the Missouri Supreme Court to suspend the licenses anyway. Pratzel said their behavior warrants discipline because they displayed “indifference to public safety” and “moral turpitude.”
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Mark McCloskey said he is mulling whether to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court but, according to NPR’s KCUR station in Kansas City, stressed that he “will respectfully cooperate with and fully perform my probation.”
He added, “I don’t think we acted in moral turpitude at all.”
Mark McCloskey is running a campaign for U.S. Senate to replace Sen. Roy Blunt, who decided not to seek reelection this year.
