A judge in St. Louis disqualified Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner from prosecuting the case against Mark McCloskey on the grounds that campaign fundraising emails that the prosecutor sent about Mark and his wife, Patricia McCloskey, pointing guns at protesters made her unfit for the case.
“The campaign emails demonstrate the Circuit Attorney’s personal interest in this case, raise the appearance of impropriety and jeopardize the Defendant’s right to a fair trial,” Judge Thomas Clark wrote in the ruling entered on Thursday. “These email solicitations aim to raise money using the Defendant and the circumstances surrounding the case to rally Ms. Gardner’s political base and fuel contributions.”
Clark acknowledged the Supreme Court precedent discouraging “judicial intrusion” in disqualifying democratically elected attorneys. “The court does not seek to disregard the will of the voters and does not make this decision lightly,” the judge wrote. “Ms. Gardner enjoys the honor of representing the citizens as their elected official. … She is accountable — not just to the voters but to the rule of law.”
In June, a group of protesters broke into the couple’s gated community on the way to protest in front of St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson’s house and demand her resignation after she publicly read aloud personal information of people who had advocated for defunding the local police department. The McCloskeys, both in their 60s, were thrust into the national spotlight in late June when cameras caught them brandishing weapons outside their home as the protesters walked by in their home.
At the time, Mark McCloskey said that a “mob of at least 100” people entered the Portland Place community and “rushed toward my home, where my family was having dinner outside, and put us in fear of our lives.”
Gardner was met with criticism when she announced that she was weighing charges against the McCloskeys in July. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said that Gardner had “a record of making politically motivated decisions not based on the law,” adding that “the story here to watch here is the local prosecutor, Kim Gardner.”
In October, a grand jury filed an indictment against the couple, charging them with unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with evidence. The McCloskeys pleaded not guilty to both charges.
In response to the judge’s order, Gardner issued a statement saying that her office “will review the court order and determine our options,” according to KSDK.
Should the judge’s order stand, it’s unclear who would be appointed as a special prosecutor to handle the case. Judges typically refer to the state attorney general’s office to handle such cases, but given his own involvement in the case’s proceedings, it’s unclear whether his office would be able to avoid similar allegations of impropriety.
In addition to his criticism of Gardner, Schmitt filed a briefing seeking to dismiss Gardner’s charges, arguing that Missouri’s Castle Doctrine “allows people to use lethal force to protect their private property.”
“Under Missouri law, under the Castle Doctrine, an individual has really expansive authority to protect their own lives, their home, and their property,” Schmitt said during a July interview with Fox.
Clark’s order only applies to Mark McCloskey’s case. Patricia McCloskey, who has been charged separately, is scheduled to appear before Judge Michael Stelzer in January.
